Meiji High Samurai
by Chosha Kurenai
Summary: RK set in modern times. Kenshin is just trying to finish high school, but who knew school could be as dangerous as being Battosai was! Based on the anime and manga.
1. Chapter 1

**Meiji High Samurai**

**By**

**Chosha Kurenai**

_**Chosha's Notes**_

_Konnichiwa minna-san! I want to thank you all for giving this fic a try. I know that RK set in the modern times has been done before, but to those who have read my other stuff, they will also know that I tend to do things a little differently than most, even if I'm doing something that's already been done. Hopefully, this will be one of those, so I hope you enjoy this as much as I will. If at any point you want to comment, query or give advice, ideas or constructive criticisms about anything you read here, then please review and I will do my best to help with the best of my ability. I love to here what you guys have to say about my writing, so please, don't hesitate._

_I wish to inform you all that this story is meant to be based in Japan, however, being an British collage student, things might be a bit different that what it is meant to be, so if so, Gomennasai. But if you need any explanations, as said, just review them to me._

_One last note, I will be basing this on a mixture of the manga and the anime, depending on which is more suited for adaptation the modern day settings._

_Disclaimer: Chosha Kurenai does not own any rights to the Manga or Anime of Rurouni Kenshin. Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki and companies such as Viz, Shonen Jump and Sony, to which all copyrights and rights are reserved._

**Key**

"Blah" - talking

_Blah_ - thinking or reading something.

**MHS** - time or place change or PoV change.

Anyway, with that out the way, let the games begin!

**Prologue: **

**Rurouni - Himura Kenshin**

The street was bustling with people, despite the fact it was throwing it down with rain in a way that put Niagara Falls to shame, blanketing the world in a grey curtain. They dashed in and out of doorways, or strode quickly along, heads bowed and umbrellas covering their heads as they tried to get to wherever it was they were going.

Inside one of the small restaurants along this street sat a young man, gazing out at the world. He looked barely older than sixteen; perhaps twenty at the most, with long, ruby-red hair that fell down his back like silk, but was tied back into a low ponytail. Some of his hair fell loosely around his face, framing it with crimson tresses. He wore a deep navy, slightly baggy sweater and loose combat-like trousers, while a rather old and slightly worn coat was slung over the back of the chair, while a large, threadbare canvas rucksack sat by his feet. His face had a strangely innocent look to it, cherub-like, even more so when he smiled. However, the left cheek was married by a strange, cross-shaped scar, red as the day it was made, though how it was made, the young man would never say. Yet somehow, it seemed only to enhance his looks, rather than ruin them. His eyes were, arguably, the most intriguing things about this young man, however. They were a deep amethyst in colour that seemed to look into your very soul, but sometimes, only sometimes, you could see secrets hidden in those eyes, telling stories of a hidden past that would never be told.

Outside, rain slatted hard against the café window it was a wonder it didn't break, covering it in a liquid sheen that figures dashing about outside couldn't be distinguished, even if they were only centimetres away from the window. Inside, violet eyes rested on the vailed window for a second, before closing with a small sigh. As something of a wanderer, or a rurouni as he would call himself, the young man, Himura Kenshin, hated the rain on principle. For one thing, Kenshin found it very uncomfortable to travel when his clothes and very few worldly belongings were absolutely soaked and, with the fact that he didn't have a place to call his own to get dry once more, he would most likely catch pneumonia, knowing his twisted luck. Thankfully, today it looked like Kami liked him, as Kenshin had just managed to find shelter within this café before the heavens opened.

Besides, the rain depressed him.

Opening his eyes again, he ignored the window and turned his attention to the cup of tea that sat on the glass-topped table, taking a sip from it as he pulled a folded newspaper towards him, flicking it open with his free hand. The newspaper was an old one that had been sitting on the table when he had entered, the previous day's date printed along the top, but Kenshin didn't mind. At least he didn't have to use up any more of his meagre savings in order to buy one. He shook his blazing red bangs from his face as his soft, violet-coloured eyes ran over the print idly. The headline on the front page caught his eye.

"Oro?" Kenshin sat up a little straighter in order to read the headline properly.

**_Hitokiri Battosai Strikes Again_**

Kenshin almost choked on the tea he was drinking at the headline and had to sit there coughing for several minutes straight, causing the woman behind the counter to look round, concerned.

"Daijobu ka?" she asked worriedly

Kenshin waved a hand in her direction for a moment until he could get everything back under control. "D-daijobu," Kenshin wheezed, rubbing his chest. He sent her a shaky smile. "Sessha just swallowed the tea the wrong way. Don't worry, Onna-dono, I'm fine."

The waitress looked at him concerned for a moment, before shrugging and went back to cleaning the counter again. Finally getting his breathing back under control, Kenshin picked up the paper again, reading the article in something close to disbelief, hardly believing what his eyes were seeing.

**_Hitokiri Battosai Strikes Again_**

_Last night, the Hitokiri, codenamed Battosai has once more killed in central Tokyo. Battosai (whose true identity is unknown) has been killing people in Tokyo with a katana for the past two months. However, his motives seem unknown. Police are still investigating the murders in hope to find some sort of motive behind these seemingly random attacks. (Story continued pg. 5)_

The picture on the front page looked like some type of representation of the killer. His face covered by a thick, jet-black scarf, so only harsh looking eyes glared up at him from the newspaper.

Kenshin stared at the page for a moment, tea temporarily forgotten. Battosai… Kenshin had not heard that name in many years. In fact, he had hoped not to have to hear the name again. But…Battosai killing in Tokyo? That was impossible. Whoever it was could not be this Battosai. _After all, Sessha…_

Kenshin folded up the paper, a small frown on his youthful face. Well, it seems there was something very interesting to check out in Tokyo. Even though that name brought rather dark thoughts to the surface of his mind, it was not something that he could just ignore. The police were just not truly equipped for a fight against this man. And Kenshin could not just allow him to continue. Not when he used that name.

_Well, it looks like Sessha's next stop is Tokyo_, he thought, rummaging in his bag for his money for the tea. As he came up again, he caught sight of the window. Outside, the rain, it seemed, had finally come to an end, though the sky looked a little ominous still. _Well, best not to put it off then. Sessha was going to go there anyway. Sessha heard the schools in Tokyo are nice... I never _did_ get to finish High School…_

The waitress, seeing that Kenshin looked ready to finish, approached with the bill. "How was everything, Otoko-san?" she asked as she took the money from Kenshin.

"Fine, Onna-dono. Arigato gozaimasu."

The woman smiled, bowed and made her way over to one of the other customers. With a small sigh, Kenshin stood up, stretched and pulled on his worn coat over his shoulders and grabbed his bag. Hopefully the weather would hold out for him, at least until he got to Tokyo. After all, it would take him about a day to get there by foot and walking in the rain was not what he would call a desirable option – especially since he disliked to hitchhike and didn't have enough money for bus or train-fare. He allowed himself a small chuckle at the mental image as he slung his rucksack over one shoulder and made his way to the door, making a wind-chime tinkle as he pushed open the door and slipped outside.

**MHS**

_Three days later…_

Meiji high school was not the most extravagant school in the world, but it wasn't the worst, either. All right, so the cafeteria food was, to be honest, awful, but most the teachers were nice and the material they were taught from were all up to date and relatively new as well, so you couldn't complain.

In the history room, there was the usual crowd of students who were chatting pleasantly in their little groups as they waited for the teacher, Inouye-sensei, to arrive. Everyone, that was, but for one girl, sitting separately from the others. She was a pretty girl, not by a model's standards, but pretty nonetheless, wearing the school uniform of a short, bottle green pleated skirt and white jumper. She had long, blue-black hair that most girls would kill to have, tied back into a high ponytail by an indigo ribbon. Her eyes under her bangs were a sapphire blue and would have been the prettiest thing about her, if it weren't for the simmering anger that burned within them.

Kamiya Kaoru was having a very bad day. No, scratch that, Kamiya Kaoru was having days so bad it was as if Kami himself had a vendetta against her. This 'Bad streak', as she began to call it, had begun around a month ago, the day in which the murders committed by this Battosai person had started.

Now, Kaoru was not your normal, everyday kind of girl. Her Mother had passed away when Kaoru was a young girl. It was so long ago, really, that Kaoru's memory of her was a little vague. Her father, Kamiya Koshijiro, had died about a few months ago. He was a lovely man, kind, gentle and generous, and had always taught her to help other people. His kendo style, which he had created, was all about that – helping to protect oneself and other people – the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu. His real job, however, was with the Tokyo police and, in a robbery that had got out of hand, her father had been shot and that same man had been stolen away from her on that same night. From that point on, Kaoru was alone. She'd be lying if she said that it didn't hurt, because it did. She had loved her father dearly, and to know that she would never again see his kind smile struck her hard. However, it was not in Kaoru's nature to let anything drag her down for too long. Koshijiro had always said his Kaoru was stubborn that way.

Normally, though it hurt badly, Kaoru could have coped. Her friends at school would be able to take her mind off things. They did. They really did – but not in the way she had thought. Something had happened that made everyone spurn her, turn away from her. And it was this Battosai's entire fault.

When the murders first began, Kaoru had been shocked when police came to her door at her dojo where she was now the assistant master. It seemed that this Battosai was claiming to be killing in the name of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu. Well, she gave them an earful about that. The Kamiya Kasshin-ryu was not a killing art, Baka, she had yelled at them. It's a sword that protects people, and none of the students would ever use it to hurt someone. However, even though they left, so did everyone else. Because, however distantly, she was connected to this murderer, and they didn't want anything to do with that.

She sighed; crossing her arms and leaning her head against them so her eyes beaked up from behind them. Kami, how could they have just left her like that, even though she had never done anything wrong. _Hmph…who needs friends anyway…_ she thought, closing her eyes. Yes, she wished she could say that sincerely, but… Why did it hurt so much…?

"Did you hear, did you hear," one of the girls nearby was saying excitedly, her pigtails bouncing as she burst through the door. "Our class is getting a new transfer student! And it's a guy!"

_Whoop-de-do…_ Kaoru thought bitterly, but listened anyway, just out of bored curiosity, seeing as no one would even give her the time of day anymore.

"Nani? Are you serious?" another girl exclaimed, jumping to her feet and clasping the other girl by the jumper. "Did you see him? What's he like?"

"Oh, yeah I saw him. Really, he's so cute!" the first girl giggled loudly, her eyes almost heart-shaped. Kaoru sweat-dropped. Ugh! It was people like her that made Kaoru ashamed to be a girl…

"Alright, settle down, class, settle down," Kaoru looked up as Inouye-sensei entered the room. Inouye-sensei was a short, balding man with a kind face; small, rectangular glasses sat on his tomato-shaped nose. However, even though he was a nice guy, Kaoru couldn't say much for his dress sense. Unfortunately, Inouye-sensei had a habit of wearing rather brightly patterned suits and today was no exception. Although he was wearing black trousers and a white shirt, he was also wearing a bright, eye-stinging waistcoat, bearing all the colours of the rainbow and a tie that was bright blue with Mickey Mouse heads covering it. If Kaoru wasn't feeling so down, she might have laughed at the odd assortment, or winced at the colour scheme.

However, something, or in this case, someone, caught her eye as he followed the small teacher into the room. Kaoru allowed her self to prop her head in her hands to get a better look at the new guy.

Well, the guy was quite the stunner. His hair was a bright ruby red that reminded Kaoru of a sunset – and, apart from Inouye-sensei's waistcoat, it had to be the brightest thing in the room. He had softly tanned skin and the strangest eyes Kaoru had ever seen. Amethyst – Kaoru had never seen such eyes before. Even as he cast a small glance round the room, they seemed to look right into your heart, yet were so kind and gentle – something she rarely saw in boy's eyes. He wore the dark blue blazer and trousers that all the boys had to wear for school. The boy turned to face the class next to the teacher and Kaoru's eyes widened in surprise. On his left cheek was a cross-shaped scar. Around her, she heard the students whispering like little hisses of fire, but it seemed that not even a scar could put off the girls in the class, who, from the corner of Kaoru's eye, were all staring up at him dreamily. However, to Kaoru's surprise, the boy didn't seem to notice the attention he was getting.

"Anyway, your attention, class," he said, as the class finally got to their seats and the noise slowly dissipated. "Now, we have a someone new joining our class today." He turned to the blackboard and scribbled up a name. "And I hope you will all make him feel welcome." He moved away to reveal the name he had wrote.

_Himura Kenshin_

_Kenshin…that was a nice name_, Kaoru thought as she looked at the boy. Suddenly, she mentally slapped herself. _What the hell are you thinking, Kaoru-chan?_ She thought, bitterly. _He's not going to want anything to do withyou once he found out about that Battosai (damn the guy, whoever he is)_. She couldn't bear to imagine the disgusted took in those gentle violet eyes…

"Why don't you introduce yourself, Himura-kun?" Inouye-sensei said to the boy.

Himura Kenshin bowed towards the class and smiled pleasantly, causing half the female population to sigh.

"Sessha wa Himura Kenshin. Pleased to meet you, de gozaru"

Kaoru blinked a little at the greeting. _Mou, what a strange guy_.

Inouye-sensei looked thoughtfully around the room. "Now, were shell we have you sit…" his eyes landed on the one of the few empty desks in the room – the one, to Kaoru's surprise, which was right next to her. "Ah, the desk next to Kamiya-san is open. Kamiya Kaoru, raise your hand please."

Kaoru raised her hand, but not before the whispers broke out again, louder this time.

"Ooo, Himura-kun, don't sit there! Don't you know she's the teacher at that Hitokiri's school?"

Kaoru froze, feeling cold in the pit of her stomach, before anger almost made her erupted like mount Fuji on the spot. She clenched her fists and shook with fury. _Why those little…_ Now they were even ruining her chances at even having a small friendship with the boy! But, just as she was about to grab her history book and lob it at them, Kenshin, to her surprise, had ignored the whispers completely and sat down next to her, before flashing her a cheerful smile. "Ohayo, Kamiya-san," He said in a soft, gentle voice. Kaoru almost fell out of her seat. He was still talking to her? But…but they had just told him she was part of 'Battosai's' school!

_…Perhaps he hadn't heard them…_she though glumly, but forced herself to smile in return. "Ohayo, Himura-kun"

Kenshin smiled at her gently, before pulling out his equipment out of his bag for the lesson. Inouye-sensei turned to the class with a smile and clapped his hands together. "Now, if you are all settled, we will begin the lesson. Everyone, books out and turn to page 143…"

TBC

**Japanese words**

Kami: the name for a deity, i.e. God, spirits, gods, etc.

Oro: Well, if you don't know this word, I'm surprised, but anyway – Kenshin's trademark exclamation. Another form of Ara, meaning, "huh"

Hitokiri: Manslayer

Battosai: A warrior name meaning, "Master of Battojutsu"

Daijobu: Can mean either "I'm alright" or "Are you alright?"

Ka: How you voice "?"

Otoko-san: Sir. Literally, "Mr Man"

Onna-dono: Madam/Miss. Literally, "Miss Lady"

Katana: Traditional, slightly curved Japanese long sword of the samurai that can be wielded either single or double handed.

Sessha: roughly translated to "this unworthy one", an archaic form of "I"

Arigato gozaimasu: Thank you very much

Sensei: teacher/ master (in this case, teacher)

-Kun: a suffix used to male students, or a 'superior to inferior' form to indicate difference in status, as well as familiarity or affection. (Or, that's what the manga says...)

Sessha/Watashi/Ore/Boku wa: I am… (In the case of Kenshin's greeting, "this unworthy one is…")

De Gozaru: from what I get, "Gozaru" is a suffix conjugation for "to be" or can be roughly translated as "...so says this humble person"

Ohayo: Morning

-San: Mr, Mrs Miss, etc

**Chosha's notes**

Well, I know that hasn't followed the manga or Anime properly, but then again, you couldn't have expected it to if I was going to make it into a modern setting. However, you might see some slightly more familiar stuff as the story continues. Anyway, I needed to give Kenshin a few reasons for actually going to Tokyo in the first place and, in the manga, Kenshin seems to actually be looking for this fake Battosai, ne? So, I was sort of following that idea. Anyways, so, what do you think so far? Is it good, bad or just plain stupid? Please, review and tell me.

Next time on MHS…

Kenshin is having school problems – especially with a rather violent dojo girl, and Kaoru gets her first contact with the murderer. Next episode: the Hitokiri Battosai.

But, 'til then, Ja ne!

**Chosha Kurenai xXx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chosha's Notes**

Konnichiwa minna-san! Its nice to see you all again. Welcome back to MHS. I want to thank those few who have read and or reviewed on this fiction. If this is a first for you, then welcome to the madness…er…I mean fiction.

People have been asking how old Kenshin is going to be in this. Well, I've decided that Kenshin is going to be about twenty, which means in this he has spent five years as a drifter – or Rurouni – rather than ten. This is because I can't see a 28-year-old in high school. Anything else, I'll explain as it arrives, but don't hesitate to ask if you want to know something. Anyways…

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. It is owned by Watsuki-sama, to which all rights are reserved.

Last time on MHS…

Kenshin has started school at Meiji High, and Kamiya Kaoru seems to be having problems concerning a certain 'hitokiri' that Kenshin is also on the lookout for…

**Chapter one**

**The Hitokiri Battosai**

Kenshin made his way out of the classroom as lesson ended, his mind racing from what he had learned - no, not from the lesson itself, but from the students at the school. One of the girls (he never did catch her name) had told him to be careful of Kamiya-san, because she taught at the hitokiri's school. Kenshin had discovered by listening to those whispers that this 'Battosai' was using a style known as the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu. Of course, Kenshin knew this was a lie. After all, he should know. However, it seems that this fake was claiming to.

Yet, when he had heard the girl telling this to him, he had seen the shock and distress in Kamiya-san's eyes before anger took over. No, this girl could not be responsible for teaching any students to kill. While she did admittedly exude an aura common in swordsmen, she also had lightness to her ki. It held an innocence that could not be faked. Not even when (he winced at this) she lost her temper in the middle of the class at a group of students that started whispering loudly about those silly rumours again and started to throw her hard-backed note pad, along with her metal pencil case at the people. Kenshin made a mental note not to get that girl angry with him. But despite that, anyone with eyes should be able to tell that this girl would not kill anyone. Maim, perhaps from what he had seen, but definitely not kill. So Kenshin had ignored the students and spoken to the girl anyway, to which, he sensed, she was surprised about, especially when he smiled at her.

Anyway, he thought as he shifted the school bag on his shoulder and started down the hall, what kind of hypocrite would that make him if he shunned Kamiya-san because she was, in some way, linked to this fake hitokiri?

"Himura-kun, Himura-kun!"

Kenshin blinked as the voice broke into his thoughts and turned round to find, to his horror, half of the female class population running towards him, waving their hands to get his attention. It was only out of politeness that Kenshin stayed put, though inside he was cursing his manners.

"Himura-kun, why don't you come with us? We'll show you around the school if you like…" a girl with long brown hair said, her eyelashes fluttering suggestively.

"Oro?"

Another girl squealed in delight and grabbed Kenshin's arm in attempts to 'show him round the school'. "Isn't he so sweet? Come on, it'll be fun. We've already started a fan club for you."

"Oro!"

Suddenly the bell rang somewhere within the school and Kenshin almost sighed aloud in relief. Saved by the bell… Quickly, Kenshin slid his arm out of the girl's grasp. "Sumanai, de gozaru," he said, apologetically and bolted down the corridor to his next class. Hell, he wasn't ready for that kind of stuff yet. He'd forgotten about just how troublesome school used to be!

Thankfully, the rest of the morning passed with little incident, apart from the fact that he now had to watch out for this so-called 'fan club' of his. Thankfully, Kenshin had spent the best part of his life keeping a low profile, so it wasn't long before he managed to get into the swing of things again. Much to the female population's disappointment, Kenshin could not be found except in lesson time, so the girls had yet to make a move on him (much to the redhead's relief).

However, when the lunch bell rang, Kenshin found himself in something of a predicament. Lunchtime meant that those stalking girls would have nothing to hold them back from attempting to stick their claws into him and latching onto him like a leach. However, Kenshin was hungry as well. Being the drifter that he was, complete with having next to no money, Kenshin knew that the school lunch was probably one of the only times he was going to be able to eat at all until he could find another way to get some more spending money. After all, the meagre savings he had were probably only enough to last about a week at most – and only if he was sparing with it. So, it was with some trepidation that Kenshin made his way into the cafeteria with the crowd of other students.

The cafeteria wasn't very high-tech or new, but it was clean and had plenty of tables to sit at. The walls were a neutral cream colour, while the tables were similar to camp tables, rectangular in shape and made of some sort of yellow, plastic-lined wood, with two benches along side them – one on each side. At the back wall were several of the cooks waiting to give them whatever food was on the menu for the day. A long queue of students, all holding plastic treys waited impatiently for the line to move on. Kenshin quickly joined.

However, when Kenshin actually got the food, he was hard pressed not to ask the person what on earth it was meant to be, even with his drilled in manners. The…whatever it was meant to be, looked cross between some sort of chilli and month old mashed potato, though he highly doubted that was what it was. Kenshin eyed it doubtfully. He could have sworn he saw it move. However, if there was one thing Kenshin had learned on his travels, it was no matter how bad the food looks, as long as it wasn't harmful – i.e. poisonous, then never turn it down, as you'd never know where your next meal was going to come from.

So, with the…whatever it was, Kenshin made his way into the room to find a place to sit and almost winced when he heard "Himura-kun! Himura-kun!" from somewhere in the middle of the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see three girls jumping up and down, waving at him over the sea of heads. Kenshin looked round desperately for anywhere else he could sit before they dashed over to him, but nearly everywhere else was full – except…

Kenshin's eyes fell on a table near the corner of the room. There was only one person sitting at it, and everyone else was giving said person a rather wide berth. It was Kamiya-san, he noticed, looking for all the world like she wasn't bothered by this fact, except her eyes were almost screaming that she didn't understand just why everyone was avoiding her. Kenshin felt a stab of a mixture of annoyance at what they were doing and empathy with that lonely look in her eyes. In his mind's eye, he was picturing another person, sitting in another corner in another cafeteria, with different people casting fearful and suspicious glances his way. A young man with red hair and a cross-shaped scar…

His mind set, Kenshin pretended he didn't see the other girls waving at him and made his way over to Kamiya-san's table. He hesitated for a moment, then smiled at her. "Konnichiwa, Kamiya-san."

Kaoru looked up from playing with her chopsticks to meet the soft eyes of the new boy, Kenshin. He smiled gently when he noticed her attention. Kaoru's eyes almost widened. He was still talking to her? "K-konnichiwa," she managed.

Kenshin nodded to the seat opposite from her. "Do you mind if Sessha sits here? Everywhere else is full."

"H-hai," she heard herself say. Kenshin beamed and took the seat across from her. Somewhere in the hall, Kaoru heard a loud gasp of horror and Kaoru glanced round to see the girls of the new "Himura fan club" looked positively scandalised that the new boy had sat with her. The girl who was from the 'murderer's dojo', she thought bitterly.

"Arigato gozaimasu," he said with a smile.

Kaoru watched the boy as he began, with a rather doubtful look on his face, as if expecting the food to jump out at him – and Kaoru had to admit, it just might – to pick at his food with his chopsticks and, slowly, start eating it. He pulled a funny face and Kaoru fought not to giggle at him. After a moment, Kaoru decided to start up a conversation, seeing as the boy didn't mind sitting with her.

"So, you're the new guy from History class, aren't you," she said, feeling like hitting herself for stating the obvious. "Himura Kenshin, right?"

Kenshin looked up at her for a moment. "Hai." He said with a nod. "It's nice to meet you, de gozaru." He glanced round the room for a second, watching as small groups of students stared in their direction, before whispering behind their hands. Kaoru growled at what they were doing. Mou, couldn't they think of better things to talk about? Kami, they were acting like little kids! She could have sworn she saw the new boy flinch. Not that she could blame him – not after the wobbly she'd thrown in History class at her group of so-called friends.

"Um…Kamiya-san, if I may… Do you always have, well…" he waved his hand in the direction of the other students, who had all gone back to whispering behind their hands.

"What, don't you think I'm worth staring at?" Kaoru joked, but somehow, with everyone whispering about her behind her back, it made it sound more like she was angry with him, like a challenge. Kenshin definitely winced this time.

"Ah, no, no…of course you are," he reassured her hastily with as slightly squeaky voice. Kaoru took a deep breath, trying to calm down and saw the boy visibly relax as she did. Great, Kaoru no baka, she thought. The first person to talk to me in months and here I am snapping at him.

"To answer your question," she said slowly, stirring at the food with on of her chopsticks, "Yes, they always stare. Or at least they have since…" she fell silent for a moment, but Kenshin didn't push her. He merely waited, unhurriedly, for her to sort her thoughts in order, his eyes quietly encouraging. Somehow, she felt she could trust him. "Kenshin," she said slowly, before deciding 'what the heck. What more have I got to loose?' and continued. "Have you ever heard of the Hitokiri Battousai?" He tensed a moment, before it was all gone, as if it wasn't there at all. It was probably a silly question to ask. Everybody had heard of the Battosai. It's said he used to be an assassin for the government, but now… Well, it used to just be a legend, to tell the truth. He was supposed to have vanished after the last attack the agency known as the Ishin Shishi had against the organisation called 'the Bakufu', when the leader had been killed about five years ago. "He's a crazed murderer," she continued in a low voice, "who uses a katana to slaughter his victims."

"Aa…" Kenshin said, his eyes covered by his red hair.

"So you've read the papers?"

Kenshin jumped. "Oro?"

"The newspapers," She said slowly to get the point home impatiently. "About the serial killer claiming to be the Hitokiri Battousai?"

"Uh…Hai, I saw it."

"Then, you know that at the scene of the crime," She continued reluctantly, "the killer always leaves behind the same message: 'I am the Hitokiri Battousai of Kamiya Kasshin-ryu.'" She glanced over at Kenshin apprehensively, waiting for him to make the connection.

"That's the school you run, isn't it, Kamiya-san?" He asked. Kaoru was startled. "I heard them," he waved a hand over his shoulder, "talking about it."

"Oh…" so, he had heard…."Yes. My father taught the Kamiya Kasshin method at our dojo until the day he died. This murderer is claiming to use my father's style." She clenched her fists on her knees. "My father's style is a Katsujin-ken, meant to preserve life and this murderer has killed ten people in its name, my fathers last ideal stained, and since then… well, you get the point…" she finished with a glare at the other students and a growl.

Kenshin regarded her for a second, then shrugged. "It seems like this should be an easy matter to clear up. Didn't the police question you?"

"Yes, they did," She grimaced, remembering those the endless interrogations, the attacks on her and her father's character, the mobs of reporters… "The police don't think I have anything to do with it, but I couldn't convince them that this murderer isn't using the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu." Her shoulders slumped. "My father was the true instructor. I'm just the assistant master, and a girl at that. Who would listen to me? " She looked at the boy for a second, regarding her with quiet eyes. Kaoru snorted and smiled ironically. "I guess I should thank you and all," she said. "You know, for sitting with me and not looking at me like some sort of demon or something…"

"Oro?" Kenshin looked a little confused, as if trying to work out why he would want to call her that. If it weren't for the seriousness on her part, she would have giggled at the cute sound he uttered. Suddenly he put a hand to her forehead. "Do you have a fever?"

"Baka!" she growled and punched him on the head, "Can't I just thank someone anymore!"

"Ororo!" he covered his head with his hands until she calmed down. Rubbing his head with a hand, he said. "But…but why thank Sessha?"

"Well," she said, shifting a little in her seat. "Not many people'd want to sit with the assistant master of that 'murderer Battosai's' school," she said bitterly.

"Well, why should Sessha worry about something like that." He answered cheerfully, "Kamiya-san is not the one killing people, so why should this one take it out on you?"

Kaoru stared for a moment. Did he…did he just say what she thought he said? He didn't blame her…Kami, she didn't think she'd ever hear anyone in this school say that to her, not since her other friends ditched her. She couldn't help but return the smile. "Kaoru," she said suddenly.

"Oro?" Kenshin was definitely confused now.

Kaoru smiled. "Please, call me Kaoru."

Kenshin hesitated for a second. Was this such a good idea to get attached to people at the school? He sighed, hiding his eyes with his bangs. Probably not…"Alright, Kaoru…" she began to beam, "…dono"

Her face dropped in shock. Kaoru-dono? Kaoru didn't know whether to yell at him or laugh at him. She began to laugh. How could a guy she had only just met seemed to make her laugh like that? It had to be a gift.

Kenshin finished his food – did he have no taste buds left or something? – And, glancing at the clock, stood up sent her a quick smile. "Anyway, Sessha doesn't mind such things. You don't need to thank me. So, Kaoru-dono shouldn't worry either. Gym class will be starting soon. Ja ne."

Kaoru sighed as he watched the boy leave the table. That had been…nice, talking to someone again, but… she sighed. It hardly mattered. She probably wasn't going to see him again. She watched as the 'fan club' jumped up and started to follow him. By tomorrow, he will probably have forgotten all about her. Dejectedly, Kaoru began to pack up her things to leave for gym.

**MHS**

Kaoru sighed as she made her way wearily to her locker. After a moment of fiddling in her skirt pocket, she unlocked the metal door with her key and opened the door. As she went to grab her books, a note slipped off and landed on the floor. She blinked for a moment, staring at it. Surely they weren't sending her hate mail now? Hesitantly, Kaoru bent down and picked up the folded note. Well, it had her name on it and, whatever it was, she doubted it was a love note from a secret admirer. But then…

Slowly, she turned the note over and opened it, looking at it to see what it said. Her sapphire eyes scanned the note for a moment, then widened. "It can't be…" she gasped. Suddenly, her eyes hardened and, screwing up the note and aiming it at the bin, she grabbed her stuff, slammed the door shut and bolted down the hall, causing students to jump out of the way to avoid getting bulldozed. One of these students happened to be Kenshin, who almost got slammed into the lockers as she passed, but in her hurry, she never noticed him.

Kenshin stood there rather stunned, wondering what on earth could have made her hurry away so fast. She had a sort of determined look on her face, as if to say 'I'm-going-to-do-something-stupid-and-you-can't-stop-me'. He hesitated, then glanced at the way she came from three lockers up, trying to see any indication of what made her depart in such a fashion. His sharp eyes landed on a screwed up peace of paper the Kaoru had thrown towards the bin, but it had bounced off and landed on the floor and they narrowed slightly. That was what she was reading before she stormed off like that.

Bending down, Kenshin picked up the screwed up note and carefully began to straighten it, making sure that he didn't rip it, and smoothed it out against the locker. On one side of the rumpled paper bore the girl's name: Kamiya Kaoru. Flipping it over, he scanned his eyes down the note.

'I know that you and your family are innocent of the crimes of that murderer, Battosai and I can prove it. Meet me at the ruffian row tonight at nine, and I will give you the proof to clear your name.'

The note was left unsigned.

Somehow, from this innocent-seeming note, Kenshin almost felt his blood run cold. There was a…an underlying tension of some kind in the words and…was that the faint sent of blood? Kenshin's eyes narrowed for a moment. Yes, there was no mistaking the smell, but it wasn't recent. It smelt like the scent of whoever the writer had been and the blood-smell came from the writer's hand–oh Kami-sama! This could not be good. He prayed his instincts were wrong…

Kenshin's head snapped up and stared the way Kaoru had gone. The girl…didn't she know that she might be walking into a trap? He hesitated. The girl had said that she was the assistant master of that Kendo school, so it wasn't like she was helpless…but still, if it was a trap, then she might be hurt. Then again, this is a High school not a Yakuza headquarters. He really shouldn't get involved in Kaoru's life, but if something happened, he would never forgive himself.

"Why can't things be simple?" he moaned and, snatching up his school bag, dashed off down the hall after Kaoru, almost running down his, highly annoying, 'fan club'. With barely a "Sumimasen!" Kenshin ran on without looking back.

Now, just looking at Kenshin, you never would have thought he was fast, but Kenshin wasn't a normal guy and it took barely minutes to catch sight of her. Kenshin, after catching up with the girl, began to follow her like a shadow to see if this letter had truly been a set up or not. After all, If the letter was real, then Kaoru wouldn't need him and would be highly annoyed with him for stopping her – which would probably mean a hell of a lot of pain on his part. He still remembered the punch she had landed on his head. Though it wasn't enough to cause him serious damage, the girl packed one heck of a punch. But if the letter followed Kenshin's suspicions, then he would still be at a distance to be able to help her if she needed it.

Kenshin followed the girl to the gates of an old-styled building surrounded by walls. From his vantagepoint behind the corner of another house, Kenshin could make out a sign baring the words: Kamiya Kasshin-ryu Kendo Dojo. Kenshin blinked. So this was where Kaoru lived. It wasn't the most extravagant dojo Kenshin had ever seen, but it wasn't the worst either. It was…quaint, for lack of better words.

Kaoru wasn't there for long. When she dashed out once more, barely pausing to lock the front gate, Kenshin noticed she was now carrying a bokken. Kenshin sighed in relief. At least the girl had enough sense to pick up a weapon for protection. Soon she was off again, heading down towards the rougher part of town where she was meant to be meeting this person who was supposed to have information for her. Keeping to the shadows, Kenshin followed at a distance.

Now, from what Kenshin could gather, the 'ruffian row' wasn't called the 'ruffian row' for nothing. Though it wasn't the most dangerous part of Tokyo, it wasn't exactly very passive either. It tended to be the hang out for the thug-like gangs and down-and-outers, hence the nickname it had picked up. In fact, people had forgotten exactly what the street had originally been called. It definitely wasn't the place for a rather pretty girl wearing the short school skirt that looked as if the designer of the uniform had been some sort of perverted old man to be hanging around. Even Kenshin, despite being new in town knew that. His suspicions were soon confirmed when two slightly intoxicated men appeared and leered at the girl.

"Hey there, little miss. Someone's being a very naughty girl. She needs to be taught a lesson," the first man slurred slightly as he sidled up to Kaoru, who merely looked at hem in silent contempt, he bokken ready, though it seemed the men were too drunk to notice.

"Maybe she should come with us to get disciplined," the other said, his eyes sweeping over her petite form. Kenshin felt a stir of instincts that he hadn't felt in a long time and almost growled, his hand creeping to the opening of his bag. If they tried to lay a hand on the girl, they were going to find out just what his reputation was back in Kyoto. He stepped out of the shadows, drawing something from his bag.

However, he needn't have worried. Just as the man tried to lay a hand on her, her eyes flashed. "Hentai!" she yelled and landed her bokken on his head with a slightly sickening crunch. The man fell over unconscious and she smacked the other across the shoulder and (even Kenshin winced at this) kneed him in the groin - Hard. The man's eyes bulged; his face turned white and with a very high pitched squeak fell in a foetal position on the floor, shivering in pain.

Kenshin could think of only one word to describe that.

Ouch.

Kaoru growled angrily at the men, then sat down on the prone forms with a huff. "Mou! Where is that guy…" she grumbled to herself. "If this is some sort of prank…"

If it was, Kenshin pitted the fool who would rise the ire of this girl. At least Battosai's targets had died quickly. Kenshin grimaced at the image. Suddenly, the girl glanced round and her eyes widened as they landed on him. Kenshin hesitated. Oops.

Kaoru got to her feet, startled and stared. "Kenshin? What are you…doing…." She trailed off, eyes fixed on the sheathed sword in his hand and they widened in shock. "You…you're…" Suddenly her eyes darkened "Why do you have that? A katana!" she demanded fiercely, eyes flashing dangerously. "Are you working for that murderer Battousai, is that it?"

Kenshin almost flinched at the accusation. "Iie, it's not like that at all. After all, after only just arriving in town, how could Sessha be working for the murderer?" However, she still looked cross between confusion, anger and – was that hurt in the girl's eyes? Kenshin met her eyes and, slowly, passed the sheathed sword to the girl, hilt first, much to the girl's surprise. "Here, Kaoru-dono, see?"

Kaoru stared at Kenshin in suspicion, which surprisingly pained him - but why should he care what a girl he had only just met think about him? – However, she hesitantly complied. Kaoru took hold of the hilt in experienced hands and pulled it from its sheath, the blade hissing as it was brought to life. She held it up to the light and her face changed to utter bewilderment. He gave her a small smile. "How many could one kill with this?"

"What's this?" She gasped. "The blade is on the wrong side!"

"Aa." Kenshin smiled faintly, glad to see the anger filtering out of her gaze. "It's called a sakabatou. It is not designed to kill."

"You study kenjutsu?" She asked in surprise. Was it that shocking? Kenshin thought. Okay, so he wasn't exactly a heavy weight, but…

"Hai, de gozaru," Kenshin confirmed.

Kaoru looked even more confused, "But… Kenshin, why not just use a bokken?" She suggested. Kenshin shrugged and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could answer her, a sudden scream ripped through the silence from somewhere near by and Kenshin tensed – so did Kaoru and they both stared off in the direction that it had come from. Kenshin could feel in the area panic and also a feeling Kenshin had been in contact with far to often – bloodlust. Shouts could be heard now – something about arrest – police?

"The police?" Kaoru said in confusion, before her eyes widened in dawning realisation. "It might be him!" And, To Kenshin's utmost horror, she ran – towards the sound.

"Kaoru-dono! Kaoru-dono, Matte!" Kami, why wont the girl listen to him! Kenshin sped round the corner after her. How reckless could she get! If this carried on, she was going to be the death of him, honestly!

Kaoru, however, had no idea that the redhead was following her. She almost flew round the corner and gasped as she saw a fountain of blood splatter the far wall as a policeman was cut down. A large figure straightened as Kaoru skidded to a halt and turned round slowly.

The man was huge, easily over six feet tall with broad shoulders. He was clad in jet black from head to foot and his face was covered by a mask that covered everything but his eyes and, in those eyes, it was like looking into the gates of hell itself. Kaoru could see him smear through the cloth of his mask and he turned round fully, eyes gleaming. In a hand that looked as if it could crush stone, he held a drawn blade, which shone in the streetlights and, dripping from it was the deep crimson of still fresh blood and gore. In that moment, Kaoru knew. This was the man who was framing her name and style.

This was Hitokiri Battosai…

**TBC**

**Japanese translations**

_Katsujin-ken: a sword ethics meaning 'swords that give life'_

_Ki: a person's aura_

_Hitokiri: manslayer_

-Kun: a suffix used to male students, or a 'superior to inferior' form to indicate difference in status, as well as familiarity or affection. (Or, that's what the manga says...)

_Oro: an exclamation similar to 'Ara' used by Kenshin – basically similar to 'huh'_

_Sumanai, Sumimasen: excuse me, pardon me_

_De gozaru: a suffix conjugation for "to be" or can be roughly translated as "...so says this humble person"_

_Konnichiwa: Hello_

_-San: Mr, Mrs, Miss, etc_

_Sessha: a form of 'I' (like Watashi, Watakushi, Atashi, Boku, or Ore) though considered archaic, meaning something like 'this unworthy one'_

_Hai: yes, I agree_

_Arigato (gozaimasu): thank you (very much)_

_-No Baka: i.e. Kaoru no Baka – basically 'Kaoru you idiot'_

_Ishin Shishi: In the proper context, the imperialists. In my case, an organisation that is similar to the FBI, CIA or MI6_

_Bakufu: In its proper context, the military government of the Shogunate, which was overthrown by the revolution. In this, though, a group that caused problems for Japan, which the Ishin had to take down. _

_Katana: Japanese long sword_

_Dono: an archaic form of Sama, which is even more respectful than San, that is close to saying Lord/Lady whoever._

Ja ne: bye 

_Dojo: martial arts training hall._

_Bokken: a wooden sword used in kendo – aka 'Bokuto'_

_Hentai: Pervert_

Matte: Wait (or something along those lines…)

Kami: God, gods, spirit – a deity of some kind.

**Chosha's Notes**

Well, I've done it again – another cliff-hanger. Boy, I've got to stop doing that (I've done this in my other fics too…) – I'm too evil for my own good. However, it seemed a good place to stop, so stop I did. At least you'll want to read more – if I didn't mess up on this too much or something. Oh well…

Well, now I've started to incorporate some of the manga and Anime into it, though perhaps in the wrong places than where they are on the manga or Anime. But then, you can probably see that. Thank you for the thanks about the translations at the end – I thought that, although I know some Japanese, doesn't mean the rest of the world does. I hope, then, that you will use them throughout the fic. If there is a word I missed that you don't understand, just tell me, and I will make sure it gets added to the list.

Anyway, what did you think of this chapter? Is it any good? Please review and tell me your thoughts. If you've got any questions or criticisms, don't hesitate to contact me and I will try to answer them.

I am also thinking of doing a Prequel to this once I get into things. Basically it will be the modern Bakumatsu and How Kenshin became hitokiri in the here and now. Whenever I get round to it – perhaps when this is finished – it will be called 'Codename: Battosai'. Do you think I should do that?

Next time on MHS…

Kaoru and Battosai face off, while Kenshin comes to the rescue. What will her guardian think when he brings her home? Oro! Next episode: Can I keep him?

(CK: yes, sad title and it might change if I can think of something better. Any suggestions?)

But, 'til then, Ja ne!

**Chosha Kurenai xXx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chosha's Notes**

Konnichiwa again, minna! Welcome back to MHS. I'm sorry it's taken so long – and after that cliffhanger too! I should be ashamed! But, I am now sitting A levels at collage, so I have to study – meaning my writing periods are shorter. However, I won't put things on hold and will update as much as possible. Anyway, that said, I want to thank you, my reviewers, for those inspiring reviews, so Arigato! I also want to thank all my readers and those who are new to the story and are now giving this chapter ago. I'll try not to be evil this time with any cliffhangers (but don't hold your breath – I'm terrible for them --). Anyway, enough of me. Go forth and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is copyright © Nobuhiro Watsuki. Some of the dialogue and story line was written by Watsuki-sama. This is a fanfiction and is not intended as an infringement on that copyright.

Last time on MHS…

Kenshin discovered that Kaoru had received a letter, informing her that this unnamed person had proof to clear the name of her style and gets suspicious. However, before Kenshin can tell her this, Kaoru runs into the murderer himself…

**Chapter Two**

**Hitokiri and Rurouni**

Kaoru's eyes were wide as she stared in horror at the towering form of Battosai before her, her eyes fixed on his, seeing the bloodlust within them. She almost flinched at the gaze, but like hell she was going to back down! This was the man that had caused all her misfortune. This was the man that had soiled the name of her family and her style. This was the murderer – the hitokiri Battosai.

She grasped her bokken tighter, her eyes blazing. He was claiming to use Kamiya Kasshin-ryu, therefor it was her responsibility and hers alone. She was going to stop him from killing, protect the art and teaching of her late father, even if it was the last thing she would do.

"This is it, Battosai!" She yelled and attacked, striking at the hitokiri with all her might. She felt her blow connect, but Battosai thrust his blade towards her at lightning speed. It was only due to her training that she avoided getting skewered, but she still wasn't fast enough. Kaoru cried out a little as she felt the sword slice at the skin of her arm, staggering back into the wall. She gasped at the warm feeling as it soaked her sweater, dying it deep crimson. The Battosai's eyes gleamed at the sight of her blood and lifted his katana to lick it off. Kaoru tried not to shiver at this, clutching her bokken tightly, trying to ignore the burning pain that laced through the wound. She glared at the man with her eyes blazing and struck out with her bokken. He sliced through it as if it were nothing more than a twig in his hands, sending her backward, her back slamming against the wall - cornered, trapped. Her eyes widened in horror at the stump of her bokken, all that was left at the wooden sword. She was defenceless!

The Battosai advanced, his eyes gleaming predatorily and Kaoru could see her own death shining back through those eyes. She had to do something, buy some time. Surely someone would see what was going on, surely someone would call the police. She had to stall. Her life depended on it.

"Why are you doing this?" she said, summoning the last of her anger to stop her voice shaking in the fear that flooded through her. "Tell me why!"

The Battosai threw back his head and laughed, sending a shiver through her body. "Why say when your dead!" he snarled, eyes dancing with sadistic glee and he continued to advance. She looked round for anything she could defend herself with – anything – but there was nothing within reach. The only thing in her range was the stump of her bokken still clasped in her hand.

She fingered it for a moment. It wasn't like she had anything to lose…summoning the last of her strength, her eyes flashing; she drew back her arm and snapped it forward like a sling. The stub of wood flew through the air and crashed hard against his skull, right between the eyes. Battosai stumbled back, swearing sulphurously and Kaoru felt a surge of satisfaction. No one could say that Kamiya Kaoru didn't go out fighting! However, the satisfaction faded to horror as the monstrous man turned towards her, eyes bloodshot and blazing with anger.

"You'll die for that, bitch," he snarled, stalking towards her menacingly. It was then that she knew she was going to die.

He raised his katana, the blade flashing deadly in the light with silver and crimson. Her whole body froze. She wanted to yell, to scream, to do something but she couldn't seem to move. Her eyes widened, petrified, as the sword swung down and she screwed them up tight, her mind screaming at the death that was coming to claim her, readying herself for the blade to cleave her in two.

Kenshin rounded the corner just as the 'Battosai' raised his bloodstained sword to slice Kaoru, who was trapped by the wall, unable to move, trapped. His heart constricted for a moment.

No!

He dashed forward towards the girl with a burst of speed, snatching her up in his arms just as the blade struck, sweeping her to safety and skidded to a halt, glancing at the bundle in his arms, hoping beyond hope he had not been too late. To his relief, Kaoru stirred, her eyes snapping open and she stared at him, as if not believing what she saw.

"K-Kenshin?" She gasped, her eyes widening to the size of plates.

Kenshin gave her a small comforting smile. "Hey there."

Behind them, Kenshin sensed movement and he felt Kaoru tense in his arms. Kenshin looked round, meeting the eyes of the impostor as the man straightened. His eyes were ablaze at his stolen target.

'Battosai' snarled at him through his mask. "You…"

Kenshin's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, his knees bent, ready to dodge at a moment's notice. Even though Kaoru was quite light, he could not use his sakabato if he tried to kill them again. Whatever happened, he was not going to allow this murderer the chance at finishing off the girl in his arms.

Both of them tensed when sirens whirred into hearing range, steadily coming closer. Kenshin could see the lights of the police cars flashing red and blue over the rooftops. The fake Battosai swore loudly he heard them seconds after Kenshin and turned to flee. However, he caught sight of Kaoru in Kenshin's arms and made towards them. Kenshin let his eyes narrow dangerously and hissed, causing 'Battosai' to pause, meeting his eyes for a moment. He could feel the man's ki spike in fury and fear, as Kenshin allowed his fury to seep through. He let the message through very clearly: Just try it and I will make you live long enough to regret it.

He snarled and raised his katana, just as the police car rounded the corner, sirens blazing. A door burst open and a policeman jumped out, pulling out his gun. "It's Hitokiri Battosai!" he yelled, aiming the gun at the murderer.

Another burst from out of the other door, gun out, trained on the 'Battosai' "Stop right there!" He yelled

"Feh," snorted the murderer and lowered his sword, stepping back.

The policemen's finger closed on the trigger. "Freeze or we will shoot!" The impostor snarled and, throwing Kenshin a hate-filled glare that could have melted iron, he spun and fled. Kaoru flinched in Kenshin's arms as the air vibrated with loud bangs and bullets rained out in the direction of the fleeing figure, but missed by a hair - he was almost out of range. As he disappeared behind a row of houses, he shouted:

"I'm the Hitokiri Battousai of Kamiya Kasshin-ryu!"

The four policemen gave chase, shouting into their walkie-talkies to demand back up. They seemed completely oblivious to the fact that they were not the only ones in the alley, which was fine by Kenshin. He hated publicity and this was definitely not the time for it. Kaoru was injured and, although it was not life threatening, the girl had already lost a lot of blood from the wound in her arm.

However, he suddenly had other things to think about as Kaoru abruptly tried to launch herself after the impostor. He had to hold on to her tightly as she fought, grasping at the air behind them with her hands. "No!" she cried out desperately.

"Kaoru-dono, stop, you're being too reckless," Kenshin told her, holding on tighter as she struggled. "Calm down."

Kaoru shook her head desperately. "But that's the style my family teaches!" she cried, crystalline tears streaming down her cheeks. "He's using our good name to murder people! I've got to…I've got…" she sighed as she fainted, unable to hold on any longer to consciousness. Kenshin's eyes widened with concern, looking into her pale face.

"You're one brave girl," he told her limp form, shifting her weight in her arms. "Reckless, but brave." He looked around, making sure the police were out of sight before heading off at a fast walk out of the ruffian row, back towards the dojo that Kaoru had, unintentionally perhaps, lead Kenshin too not so long ago. First thing he would need to do was get her back to the dojo, as they surely had doctors on call for an emergency there. Once Kaoru was safe and had her wound checked he could then looking into this fake Battosai case. Now he had seen the man in person, Kenshin had a few ideas to who it might be, but…

It didn't take him long to reach the Kamiya dojo and he paused for a second, wondering how he was going to get into the building. Kaoru had locked it before she came to the ruffian row. He thought about getting the key from her pocket, but blushed at the thought. Rummaging round girls' clothes like a perverted old man – sorry, he was way too polite to do that, even if the girl was unconscious. He sighed and shifted her weight. Guess I'll have to see if I haven't lost my touch at lock picking, he thought, dropping his bag to the floor and, with one hand rummaged through the front pocket until he found his lock picking materials. Really, he didn't know why he had kept them, but he wasn't about to complain for this. Pulling the prong out, he started to pick at the lock.

It seemed he hadn't lost his touch, even after five years, as the lock clicked opened after only half a minute.

Shoving the door open with his shoulder, Kenshin carried the limp form into the house that was attached to the dojo after unlocking the house door seconds later. It was a nice place, simple, yet elegant in its own little way. However, he would think about that later once he had made sure Kaoru was all right. After taking her into a room he suspected must be hers – it was the only one that looked as though it had been used in a while – he looked around the house for a phone. He found one sitting in the hall and scanned the emergency numbers on the quick-dial list. After a moment, his eyes landed on the words 'Doctor Gensai – Ogura clinic'. Bingo! He quickly pressed the speed-dial button. After a moment or two, a voice answered.

"Moshi moshi. Ogura clinic, Dr Gensai speaking."

"Gensai-isha? My name is Himura Kenshin. Could you come over to the Kamiya dojo? I'm afraid Kaoru-dono was hurt."

There was a shocked silence for a second, before the voice spoke again. "I'll be over as soon as I can."

"Arigato gozaimasu."

Putting the phone back on the hook, Kenshin made his way back to Kaoru's side and looked down on her relaxed face for a moment, before sighing and pulling back her sweater sleeve carefully to check the wound before the doctor arrived. As he had thought, it wasn't life threatening, but it was a slightly deep and might possibly need stitches. Rummaging in his bag once again, he pulled out some spare bandages to help stop the blood flow until Gensai-isha came.

It was as he was just about to tie the bandage that Kaoru began to stir. Blinking in his work for a moment, he glanced over at her to check she was all right. Kaoru's eyes fluttered open slowly, drowsily, before landing on him. He smiled. "Konnichiwa, Kaoru-dono."

She blinked, blinked again, then screamed at him and slapped him hard round the face. Kenshin reeled back in shock.

"Oro!"

"Hentai!"

She then promptly began to grab random things from the shelf and lobbed them in his general direction, much to Kenshin's horror. He flung his arms over his head to avoid getting hit by the missiles. "Kaoru-dono! Please, stop throwing –Oro!" he yelped as a small statue struck him hard on the forehead.

The hail of objects stopped and Kenshin managed to get a look at her through his arms. She had frozen, arm over her head as if to launch what looked like the bedside lamp and he winced at the thought. However, her mouth was open with dawning recognition.

"Eep!" she promptly dropped the lamp as she realised just whom it was she had been throwing objects at. "Kenshin! I'm so sorry!"

Kenshin pulled the arms away from his head with a shaky smile. "Daijobu…you just had a bad experience today. I understand." He rubbed at the forming lump on his forehead. "You certainly have one good throwing arm, de gozaru yo!"

Kaoru blushed furiously. When she had woken up, she remembered what had happened – it had all come flooding back to her, the look Battosai had in his eyes as he raised his katana against her, the way she had known he was going to kill her. So when she had woken up to see a face so close to hers, she had just freaked. But those gentle eyes were nothing like those bloodthirsty ones for Kami's sake. Great the guy had just saved your life and you assault him – again! You have serious issues, girl.

"Still, I… Itai!" She winced slightly as her arm began to burn. "Huh?" her eyes widened as they landed on the bandages neatly wrapped round her arm, before they raised to meet violet ones. "Did you…did you…do this?" she asked hesitantly as she brushed her fingers against the cloth.

Kenshin looked a little nervous, as if waiting for her to throw something at him again, Kaoru noticed with a grimace. "Uh, hai…" he said with a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "I also called a doctor, just to come check on it…"

"Oh…uh…Arigato, Kenshin and, uh…" she glanced at the red mark left by her missiles and winced. "Um, Im sorry, you know, about hitting you and all…"

Kenshin flashed her a reassuring grin. "Maa, maa. I already told you though; Sessha doesn't mind such things. Don't worry about it. You just rest and I'll go make some dinner for you, alright?"

Kaoru made to argue, but he had already left the room. Mou that kid sure moves fast!

Deciding to take heed of the subtle command, she allowed herself to slump against the pillows, thinking about what had just happened. She had finally come face to face with Battosai, and yet she had let him get away again. She had let the chance of clearing her father's name and style again… She gave a cry of frustration.

"Kaoru-dono? Daijobu ka?"

Kaoru jumped as Kenshin's head popped round the corner, looking concerned. She also noticed with amusement that the boy was wearing the most ridiculous looking pink apron that had been made by two little girls she knew, covered in pink glitter, and in one hand held a spatula. She stifled a giggle. "What's for dinner, dear?"

"Oro?" surprisingly, as ridiculous as it looked, it actually suited him, especially with that silly look on his face. She could just imagine what the 'Himura Fan Club' would be thinking.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang out in the hall and they both looked round. Kenshin paused for a moment, then smiled. "Oh, that must be Gensai-isha."

"Gensai-sensei?" Kaoru repeated, blenching a little. Oh dear, the doctor was really going to chew her out for this…however, she followed Kenshin to the entrance, minding her arm to make sure she didn't knock it and he opened the door. Immediately, Kenshin was bowled over by two small figures.

"Oro!"

"Ooo, Kaoru-neesan has a guest!" chirruped a voice from somewhere on top of him. Kenshin blinked and looked up at the face of a young girl with long brown hair.

"A guest, a guest!" chimed in a second voice, belonging to a little girl, younger than the first with her hair in pigtails. "Hiya Akage-san!"

Kenshin found himself smiling. "Mr Redhead?" he chuckled good-naturedly. "And who might you two be?"

Kaoru giggled at the boy on the floor. "That's Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan." She introduced them.

"You have sisters?" he asked as he pulled them off him by tickling them. They rolled off, laughing hysterically.

"Oh no," said a new voice. "Those two are my granddaughters."

"Oro?"

Kenshin glanced up at the man who stood chuckling in the doorway. Dr Gensai was perhaps a little shorter than Kenshin with grey hair beneath a bandanna with a grey moustache and his face was friendly and good-natured with warm, dark eyes. The man smiled at him. "But I've been the doctor of Kaoru-chan's family for thirty years now."

"Gensai-sensei was named my guardian after my dad died," Kaoru explained.

"I hope you don't mind me bringing them over with me," he smiled to Kaoru, before growing serious. "Anyway, what's this I hear about you getting hurt, Kaoru-chan?" Gensai asked, a semi-stern look on his face. Kaoru blushed and shifted.

"Um…we'll you see…uh…" she struggled. Kami, Dr. Gensai wasn't going to be too happy when she told him. " I sort of… well, sort of cut by Battosai." She laughed nervously, but Gensai blenched "– but Kenshin here saved me!" She added, seeing the shocked look on the old doctor's face.

"I see…" he said and looked towards Kenshin. "Well then, I should thank you for saving Kaoru-chan's life, young man – though that was very reckless of you, Kaoru-chan." He scolded Kaoru gently. She blushed.

"It was nothing really…" Kenshin said, rubbing the back of his head, while Suzume tugged at his blazer. He turned to look at her. "Hai?"

"Can you come play?" the girl asked excitedly.

Kenshin laughed and swept the little girl of her feet, causing her to laugh out loud. Gensai turned back to Kaoru after watching with amusement. "How about we have a look at this arm of yours then, shall we?" They were just about to go into the sitting room when he sniffed. "Is something burning?"

"Oro!" Kenshin spluttered as he leapt up, one girl under each arm. "Oh no! My dinner!" and he bolted off into the kitchen, followed by the laughter of the two girls tucked under his arms. Kaoru wasn't sure whether to laugh or not. It really had been so long since she had laughed so much.

**MHS**

Kenshin set down dinner with a smile. "I think I managed to save it," he said, giving the two smaller girls a smile. "Your granddaughters were very helpful indeed, Gensai-isha."

"Yea! We helped Ken-nii!" Ayame giggled.

"Ken-nii's our fwend!" Suzume announced, hugging Kenshin round the leg, almost making him drop the remaining plate. Regaining his balance, he looked down at her fondly.

"Looks like you've made quite the impression on them Kenshin-kun," Gensai said with a smile as he accepted a plate from Kenshin. "Ah, Arigato." The girls dashed to their places.

"Itadakimasu!" chimed the girls and the immediately fell upon the food. "It's great!"

"My, you're quite the chief, aren't you." Gensai said after swallowing a large portion of it. Kenshin blushed.

"It's nothing," Kenshin replied, blushing a little at the praise, when he caught Kaoru glaring at him, to his surprise. He had to resist the urge to flinch. "Oro? What's wrong Kaoru-dono? Sessha can make something else if you don't like it…"

"No, its good…" Kaoru grumbled.

"That's why she's grumpy," Ayame said with a giggle. "Kaoru-neesan hates it when people cook better than her."

Kenshin crashed to the floor. "Oro!" Everyone giggled as Kaoru blushed a deep red and began muttering darkly, looking about ready to throw something again. Now would be a good time to play the peacemaker…putting on a placid smile, he said, "Maa, maa, I'm sure Kaoru-dono's cooking tastes just fine." Besides, it couldn't be any worse than that…effort, thing they had to eat at school, right?

(A.N.: famous last words… Oh! Sorry! Continuing…)

Kaoru suddenly seemed quite radiant as she beamed back at the redhead. After that, the meal was a much more pleasant affair.

As Kenshin was about to pack away, he caught a glimpse of Kaoru's arm, which now had fresh bandages on it. "Oh, by the way Kaoru-dono, how is your arm?"

She blinked in surprise. "My arm?" she asked. "Oh! It's feeling much better now, thanks for asking."

Kenshin smiled in return. "That's good to know."

Suzume yawned sleepily from the table and Gensai chuckled. "It seems you've worn the girls out, Kenshin-kun. I think it must be getting passed your bedtime."

Suzume shook her head vigorously. "But I'm not…sleepy," she said, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn.

Gensai looked at his watch and blinked in surprise. "My goodness, its no wonder, it really is getting late!"

Kaoru glanced over to Kenshin, who had just returned to the dining room. "It's getting late, Kenshin. Won't your parents worry?"

Kenshin froze. It was such an innocent question, but it brought back memories long since buried. Bowing his head a little, so his crimson bangs hid his eyes, he said, "They won't. My…parents died when I was little."

Through his bangs, he noticed Kaoru seemed to wince. He could almost feel Kaoru think 'insert foot in mouth now'. After a moment, she looked at him sadly, with empathy. "Gomen…"

Kenshin gave her a small smile. "It's alright. It was a long time ago." Kami, how could this girl care so much for his misfortunes when she had so many of her own? So selfless…

"Well, um, where are you staying now?" Kaoru asked, in an effort to move the subject away. However, Kenshin felt a surge of dread. Oh…damn. Kaoru was not going to like this. His mind rapidly thought of something – anything to get him out of this. Well, he could lie…but Kenshin was terrible at lying. Withholding information he could do in his sleep, but all out lying? Uh-uh.

Half-truths then? "Well…Sessha lived with an uncle for a while, but we sort of had a disagreement about something and I moved out a few years ago." He answered evasively.

Kaoru shook her head, her eyes flashing towards danger zone. Chikusho! "Yeah, but where are you living now, this minute?"

Oh, Kaoru was really, really not going to like this…"Ano…well…I sort of…live in motels and such, but if Sessha doesn't have much money, S-Sesshalivesoutside!" He blurted out in an effort to avoid being slapped by Kaoru again.

Dr Gensai and Kaoru glanced at each other, then back to Kenshin. In a deceptively innocent voice, the doctor said, "Sorry, we didn't quite catch that."

Kenshin flinched, took a deep breath in preparation, then said slower this time; "S-Sessha… sleeps outside…de gozaru…"

The redhead yelped when Kaoru slapped her hands against the table as she rose, somehow managing to resemble some sort of sabre-tooth tiger. He idly wondered what the people back at Kyoto would think of him cowering in the face of a girl at least several years younger than him. "Himura Kenshin!" she growled. _Oh dear, I'm in trouble!_

Dr Gensai nodded in agreement. "Quite right. That is unacceptable, young man."

"Oro? I'm…er…sorry?" he managed to squeak.

"Well then," Kaoru said, eyes flashing. "Until you can find a suitable home, you can stay here – that is, If you don't mind, Gensai-sensei," she added to the older man. Well, he was her guardian after all. If she didn't at least get his permission, people were going to talk.

The more dominant part of her mind told that other part to take a hike.

"Ah, we can't just have you sleeping outside. It's quite dangerous, you know." Dr Gensai mildly scolded. "And there is a spare room here."

Kenshin could only stare in something close to awe and amazement as the doctor smiled at Kaoru, nodding in approval with a smile. "But…you don't know anything about me…" Kenshin breathed.

Kaoru just answered him with a smile. "Yes, well, you did save my life. But why would it matter? We all have things in our pasts we don't want to talk about – right, Gensai-sensei? But I figure it's your own business. You're welcome to stay as long as you need to."

Kenshin wanted to pinch himself. Was this real? A dream? He didn't know what to say. However, the way the older man and Kaoru were looking at him expectantly, they were waiting for him to reply.

He wanted to. Kami, you'd have no idea how much he wanted to, but…there was so much to do... so much he needed to do. He couldn't get involved in her life much more than he already had. He couldn't…

"Aa…Arigato…Kaoru-dono" he whispered, eyes covered by his bangs so they couldn't see just how those innocent words had ripped down the walls he had held round himself for all those years. However, Kaoru and the others heard. Kaoru was practically beaming.

"Yay! Ken-nii's going to stay," Ayame said, happily.

"Ken-nii can play with us!" Suzume giggled, sleepily.

"That's great, Kenshin," Kaoru said cheerfully. However, it felt as if she had struck him with how hopeful it sounded. "We'll set up the spare room for you. Its not very big…and it's a little on the plain side, but its got to be more comfortable than sleeping outside or in a motel, ne? Come on, its this way."

The girls, tiredness forgotten, raced from the room in front of Kaoru, the others following. For a moment, Kenshin stayed stock-still in the now empty room, his head bowed, until he heard Kaoru yelling to tell them where they were. But before he followed the group through to the spare room, he closed eyes against the emotions that wanted to come through.

"Kaoru-dono…" he whispered quietly. "I'm so sorry…"

**TBC**

_**Japanese translations**_

Hitokiri – manslayer

Battosai – name meaning 'master of Battojutsu

Bokken – wooden sword, aka Bokuto

Katana – Japanese long sword

Moshi moshi – how you say hello on the telephone in Japan

Isha – doctor

Arigato (gozaimasu) – thank you (very much)

Konnichiwa – hello 

Oro – Kenshin's way of saying 'huh', or an exclamation, i.e. in pain.

Hentai – pervert 

De gozaru – a suffix conjugation for "to be" or can be roughly translated as "...so says this humble person"

Yo – how you say"!"

Itai – ow/ ouch

Hai – yes

Maa, maa – a calming noise similar to 'now, now'

Daijobu ka – are you all right?

Akage-san – as Kenshin said, means 'Mr Redhead'

Chan – an endearment, like dear-whoever, or to a child 'little-whoever'

Itadakimasu – um…doesn't have a real meaning, it's just something they say before eating, sort of like 'thank you for this food. Lets eat.'

Neesan – sister (usually 'big sister')

Nii/ Niisan – brother (usually 'big brother')

Gomen - sorry

Chikusho – Damn/ dammit

_**Chosha's notes**_

_CK: Uh…I think I might have done it again…_

_Niisan: Your hopeless_

_CK: Shut it. _

_Anyways, that's it for this chapter. I hope you guys liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know that I was a little mean on Kenshin, but I just had that image of Kaoru waking up and throwing a fit stuck in my head – just wouldn't go away! So, well, it just happened. Please don't hurt me for it! _

_This chapter, as you might have noticed, had bits and pieces from both the Manga and the Anime in it – though it might have been following the Anime more (especially in story line). So, just for warning, If I refer to the manga and you haven't read it, just review and I'll begin putting explanations on as well if I veer into manga story-line rather that Anime, kay? Otherwise, please review all questions, comments, criticisms, etc and I'll get back to you._

_Next time on MHS_

_Kenshin goes to find out about the identity of the fake Battosai and Kaoru gets a shock. Next episode: The Identity._

_But, until then – Ja ne!_

_**Chosha Kurenai xXx**_


	4. Chapter 4

Chosha's notes 

Konnichiwa again! Welcome back to MHS! I had some extra time after my exam, so I thought I'd might as well get some more of the story done. That's the most thinking I did after that – my brain feels like mush. Anyway, I'll do this chapter even if it kills me! (Yes, over-dramatic, I know…)

Well, to get back on track, thank you reviewers once again. I'm glad to hear from you all. I'm also glad that this idea is well liked, even though I had only planned it as a side project with all the others I have on the go. Guess how long that idea lasted! And also thank you to any new readers who have started reading the story too. But, this story won't write itself, so…

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama, Viz, Shonen Jump, etc. No infringement is intended.

Last time on MHS

Kenshin saved Kaoru and took her back to her home at the dojo. However, he finds himself in shock when Kaoru and her guardian, Dr Gensai, allow him to stay at the dojo…

**Chapter Three **

**The Identity**

The sun rose slowly above the earth, bringing light with it that spilled gently across the city of Tokyo. Outside, the occasional car drove passed the Kamiya dojo. From one of the nearby houses, you could hear music coming from an open window, though it wasn't exceptionally loud. From the garden behind the Kamiya dojo, you could hear the birds twittering as they welcomed the new day, but otherwise, it seemed like any normal, peaceful morning – well, as much as it could be in Tokyo, anyway.

Inside the house attached to the dojo, Kaoru was fast asleep, completely hidden under the sheets, making her look more like a lump than a human, until the alarm on the bedside began blaring with a sound that could only be compared to nails on a chalkboard. In seconds, Kaoru had slammed her fist on the switch to shut it up, even before she was fully awake. She then spent the best of half an hour just sitting and blinking a little stupidly until her mind caught up with her body.

One part of the day Kaoru always hated was the mornings. She really, really wasn't the morning person, and it usually took her at least an hour before she could mumble a coherent sentence. Then there was the fact that when she woke up; there was no one there just to talk with – always so quiet. Too quiet. However, something that morning was different and it slowly dawned on her what had happened that night. Himura Kenshin, the new boy at Meiji high school and the boy who had saved her life from the Battosai, had agreed to stay at the Kamiya dojo. That alone seemed to wake her up faster than if you had dumped a bucket of ice cold water over her. With a small giggle, she jumped out of bed, straightening the shorts and T-shirt she had used as Pyjamas that night and bounded from the room to make breakfast. Kenshin had bet that her cooking was just fine, and Kaoru wanted to prove it.

After about ten minutes, she carried a mug of tea and a plate of toast towards the room that Kenshin was now to use. Well, if toast was what you could call the bread that had been charred so much it looked as if it would crumble into ashes in a second. Okay, so breakfast wasn't her best meal to cook at…okay, so no meal was the best for her to cook at but Kaoru was in too much of a good mood to think about it. Humming merrily some random tune, she half skipped to Kenshin's room. The door was still closed. Could it be he was still asleep? She never would have thought the guy to be as bad in mornings as she was.

Resting the plate on the floor, Kaoru knocked on the door.

"Kenshin," she said cheerfully, "I've made breakfast!" She waited for him to answer, but there was no sound.

Don't tell me he's still asleep!

"Kenshin," she tried again, "wake up, or you'll be late for school!"

Still, there was no sound from inside. Kaoru felt her eyebrow twitch. All right, he asked for it… "Kenshin, I really hope your decent, cause I'm coming in!" she yelled through the door, before she realised what she said. She felt her face turned roughly the same hue as a fire engine at the thought of it. Oh, she hoped he wasn't the type to sleep naked…Pushing other such thoughts from her head, she threw open the door, walked in and paused in shock.

The room was spotless – better than it had looked last night. The spare room had not been used in ages, so it had gathered a rather thick layer of dust on the surfaces, but now they looked cleaner than she had ever seen them. There was no item of Kenshin's in the room that she could see (unless he had put them away in the draws). However, the bed was made and looked as if it hadn't been slept in at all. Kenshin himself was nowhere to be seen.

"Kenshin?" she asked tentatively, looking around the room in case he was hiding behind the furniture or something – until something caught her eye. On a desk by the window lay a piece of paper and a biro lying on top of it – something that had definitely not been there the night before. Confused, she stepped closer; noticing the paper had a rather rough handwriting on it. There were only for words.

Kaoru-dono, forgive me. Farewell.

Kaoru stared at the note and the cup of tea dropped from her hands as her happy mood was drowned out by the terrible weight in her heart. Kenshin was gone…

**MHS**

The midday sun shone golden-red on Kenshin's hair as he trudged along the road; his eyes down-turned as he dodged round several people walking in the opposite direction. His mind thought over what had happened - about the girl he had left back at the dojo with a heavy heart and how she had offered him a place to stay. Kami, it had been so long since, well, since anyone had ever shown him such a kindness before, and yet...and yet he couldn't do it, no matter how much he wanted to. But he couldn't say 'no' either, when her face had looked so expectantly at him. That was why he had left at night, leaving only a note asking her for forgiveness…

He closed his eyes with a sigh. He was a rurouni, a drifter, and always would be, it was as simple as that. But the least he could do for her in thanks for what she had done for him was to find this fake Battosai. He would clear, not only the name the impostor had stolen, but the name and style of that girl who had managed to break down his defences in only a few words by showing him a kindness he never though he would find again.

He had thought about it long and hard, during those few hours he had spent at the dojo, waiting for Kaoru to fall asleep so he could slip away without any obstacles, trying to place the large murderer with the suspects. He had realised in an instant after he had seen the impostor in the flesh that he had actually seen the man before. He had run over his memories thoroughly. Moments later, he realised where it was he had seen the man.

It had been on the day that Kenshin first got into Tokyo, before he enrolled at Meiji high School. Kenshin was just passing through the outskirts of the neighbouring town when he had walked passed a place that looked as though it had once been a dojo of some kind in a former life. However, now it looked as though it had been turned into some kind of gambling arcade and some rather unsavoury looking characters hanging around it. A sign out front read 'Kiheikan'.

It was as Kenshin was reaching the gate to walk passed when a large motorbike pulled up, revving loudly. Kenshin had paused – the man was huge, at least six foot tall. He was wearing what leather biker outfit and, when he pulled of his helmet, Kenshin noticed he had short, jet-black hair, but also had a thick beard and moustache which was a stark contrast to grinning white teeth. But the most noticeable thing about the man, at least to Kenshin, had been his eyes. They were cold, cruel and held darkness in them that Kenshin had not seen in a long time. The man had climbed off the motorbike and headed towards the Kiheikan, where the men that were hanging about outside jumped up.

"Boss"

The man they referred to as 'Boss' had walked towards the gates of the place, but noticed Kenshin and his eyes narrowed. "What are you sating at, boy?" he snarled. "Move if you don't wanna get hurt, kid."

Kenshin had moved out of the way. It wasn't that he was scared of getting hurt, but he just didn't want to draw attention to himself on what would hopefully be his new day at school again.

"Feh," the man snorted, brushing passed. Kenshin watched him go. Something had felt…off about the guy. Now he had a sneaking suspicion as to why. But the first thing he had to do was check out this Kiheikan place. If his suspicions were correct, then that would be where he would find his answers about this so called 'Battosai'.

It wasn't long before the place came into sight. It looked no different than it had two days ago, except that there were no longer any men hanging around outside the place. However, there were a couple of motorbikes parked over the yard and the gate was open, so he suspected someone must he in. With that, he set off into the yard. Best to pretend to be an idiot again, he thought. I really don't want to have to hurt anyone just because they don't tell me what I need to know.

Stepping towards the door and dropping is bag by his side, Kenshin took a deep breath, then hammered on it with his fist. "Hello?" he called "Hello. Hello. Hello…" He continued on like this, trying not to grin. Really, if he continued like this, he was going to annoy some people – no wait, that's what he wanted to do. He was already in a bad mood.

With a snap, the door was yanked back and a man with stubble growing over his chin, a toothpick of some kind sticking out of his mouth and a single gold earring glinting in his right ear glared down at him, a vein throbbing in his forehead. "Oh, shut up!" he snapped at him. "Who are you?"

Bingo! He thought, but put on his most innocent face, knowing he probably looked no older than fifteen…at most. "Is the owner…?"

"Master Hiruma is out!" the man interrupted in annoyance. "Come back later!"

Kenshin tilted his head to one side with a soft chuckle and a silly grin. "Oh! So that's his name!"

The man blinked in surprise, looking down at him with an expression cross between confusion and thinking he was some sort of moron. "Y-you didn't know?"

Kenshin looked up at him with a small, sly smile. This was the moment of truth. "Oh, Sessha thought his name was 'Hitokiri Battosai'"

The effect was instantaneous. The man reeled back in shock, staring at Kenshin stunned. Kenshin fought the urge to smirk, however much he wanted to just then. It looked like…my guess was correct after all.

Suddenly, the door was yanked back harder, revealing several of the men that Kenshin remembered from the last time that he had passed this way. One of them, a man with a studied eyebrow and dressed in some sort of thick black jacket stepped forward. "What's the matter, Nishiwaki?"

Kenshin felt a trill of ki and glanced round as several more men, ranging from all sorts of disreputable types were coming from behind. One of them, a man with a punk-rock hairstyle and a missing tooth, he noticed, did a double take at him and sneered. "Who's the runt?"

The man, Nishiwaki, gazed down at Kenshin, his eyes glinting dangerously. "Not even a runt," he sneered. His dark grin widened. "Get rid of it."

Kenshin glanced round at the small group of men as he saw some crack their knuckles. Others, who had been holding bottles of some sort of vodka smashed them to make a sharp-edged weapon, a deadly grin on their faces, while two even drew out guns from somewhere about their person. Kenshin's eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second. Well, they seemed to have an advantage – but Kenshin was highly used to that. However, he attempted diplomacy. After all, he didn't want to hurt people he only just met. "Any chance we could discuss this?" he asked

One man, who was holding some sort of iron bar, tapped his weapon against his hand. "Sure we can talk – after we're finished with you!" and he leapt forward.

Kenshin sighed. Why oh why do they always have to go for the hard option? Before the man had got within arms reach of him, Kenshin scooped up his bag and jumped back, drawing his sakabato from within. As his foot touched the floor, he pushed off again and raced forward, striking the man across the neck, just hard enough to render him unconscious.

Kenshin paused, dumping his bag to the ground and glared at the people surrounding him. They froze at the look he allowed in his eyes: Advance and you will get hurt. However, the men didn't seem to be heeding the warning and the two guns were pointed in his direction. Kenshin bent his knees, sheathed Sakabato in one hand, watching like a hunting leopard. He saw them close their fingers on the triggers – and he darted forward, drawing his sword at lightning speed.

The first strike sent the gun flying into the air from the man's grasp, sending him staggering backwards in horror, the backstroke knocking him to the ground with a yell. Kenshin ducked as he felt a ki spike and another gun exploded from behind. The bullet whizzed passed where his head had been seconds before. He swung out a leg and knocked the man from his feet. He let out a cry, falling hard onto the gravel and his head smacked onto the floor, knocking him unconscious. Kenshin didn't pause; he swung the blade upwards as two men attempted to strike him with broken bottles. They only had time to widen their eyes before the metal crashed into them, sending them reeling. They, too, fell to the floor, the bottles rolling away.

Kenshin straightened and glared towards Nishiwaki, who looked as if his eyes were about to fall out of his head, and walked towards him slowly. He gulped and stumbled away, pointing at him in shock. "You…that hair…the scar…you can't be…!"

The redhead came to a stop in front of him, looking up at him with a small smile, though he knew the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Would you care to talk now?"

The man whimpered and fell to his knees. Kenshin crouched down, his face level with Nishiwaki's. "Tell Sessha, if you would, where did Hiruma-san go to?"

Nishiwaki looked as if he wanted to faint, sweat rolled down his face as he attempted to look away from those steely blue eyes. "H…he went…to Tokyo…" he gasped out.

Kenshin blinked, his eyes hardening. "Tokyo?"

Nishiwaki nodded desperately. "He went to the…the Kamiya dojo…to get r-revenge…"

Kenshin froze. Kaoru! Kaoru was in danger! Kenshin's eyes narrowed as he looked down on the man. "I think you had better take me there and, on the way, you can tell me everything."

He made it impossible to argue when his eyes were flecked with that odd glowing gold. All Nishiwaki could do was do as Kenshin had ordered.

**MHS**

Kaoru walked home, her head bowed and she scuffed her shoe across the pavement in depression. Somehow, when she found that Kenshin had gone, the day had just seemed so much bleaker, despite the fact that the sun was out and birds chirped pleasantly. It was as if fate itself was laughing at her. However, she had gone to school, if merely with the hope that Kenshin would turn up. Then she would whack him one, find out just why he had left and everything would be fine again.

But Kenshin never turned up to lesson. She had glanced at the clock every few minutes, then at the door, just to see if he would come in late. He never came. Her heart sunk.

Kaoru hadn't been the only one disappointed. The Himura fan club looked depressed and spent most of the lesson whispering about where he might be. Was he sick? Had something happened to him? Or (they glanced darkly in Kaoru's direction at this point) had that Battosai from the Kamiya dojo got him?

That last comment hurt her more than any of the others she had received since Battosai's murders started. Had it been Kaoru's fault that Kenshin had left? It struck her so hard she couldn't even make herself angry at them. She just wanted to sob. However, she was not going to cry. Things were bad; they weren't going to get any easier. She was just going to have to face facts – she would always be alone.

Still, it didn't make her feel any better.

Pulling the key out of her pocket, she opened the gate to the dojo and stepped into the house, before hesitating. Somehow, the quietness of the hallway felt choking, so utterly silent. She could barely stand it. It had to be all Kenshin's fault, she thought, but somehow just couldn't seem to convince herself.

"Arrg! Alright, Kaoru, get a grip!" she growled to herself. "Stop moping around like a complete Baka and do something useful!"

Setting her shoulders, she headed to her room and her wardrobe and, after creating a storm of raining clothing, found her training uniform for kendo and started to change into it. At least if she practised kendo a little bit, she might be able to just forget everything for at least a half-hour or so. That in mind, she headed of to the dojo.

Stalking over to the dojo, she slipped off her sandals and headed off to the rack where the wooden swords were all lined up on the wall. But before her hand closed around the wood, the door was shoved open with a clack. Kaoru froze in surprise. Was that Kenshin, come back again? Or was it Dr Gensai? He sometimes just let himself in to visit – he did have an extra key to the house after all. She thought hopefully, turning round to see who had opened the door. However, the smile on her face died off when she saw who was standing there.

A tall, man stood in the doorway, backed by about five or six men. He was large, built like a bull and wore a jet-black T-shirt that showed off thick, bulging muscles in his arms. One hand was stroking a thick black beard; the other was holding a sheathed sword in a wooden casing, slung over his shoulder. Kaoru hazily remembered seeing the man before. Hiruma Gohei, if she recalled. He ran a sort of gambling place in the next town over from Tokyo. His thick, white teeth glinted as he grinned down at her, but somehow seemed quite menacing. Something in that smile set the alarm bells ringing. She took an involuntary step backwards, images flashing though her mind as something about him screamed 'danger' – then she remembered.

Her eyes widened in horror and she took another step backwards, hand rising to her mouth in recognition. "Y-you're…!" she forced herself to clam down and snatched a bokken from behind her, brandishing it at the monster of a man. "I know that you're that serial killer, the Hitokiri Battousai!" she snarled at the man, eyes narrowed "Give yourself over to the police!"

The man threw back his head and laughed, causing Kaoru to shiver at its coldness. He grinned coldly and pulled the wooden casing apart, revealing the deadly steel blade of his katana, letting the sheath fall to the floor with a decisive clatter and advanced towards her.

"And why would I want to do that?" he almost purred. "Now, when I am so close to reaching my goal."

"Your… goal?" she asked warily, her eyes fixed on the sword coming closer, she took another step back.

"You wanted to know why, didn't you?" the murderer growled. "I'll tell you now, so you know just why it is you're going to die. I began killing in order to denounce the name of Kamiya, in order to destroy your father's legacy."

"As if that explains anything!" she spat, glaring at him in a way that could heat metal. "What did my dad ever do to you that you hate my family so much?"

Gohei smirked. "Oh yes, dear old daddy would want to keep his little girl in the dark about what he did, wouldn't he?" he sneered. "Your father once worked for the government. I once worked in the same department as your father, years ago. One night, We were ordered to go bust a ring of drug dealers, but when I killed a few of the guys, cause they wouldn't give us move information, your daddy, decided to stop me and he broke my hand. I couldn't hold a gun or even a pen in my right hand again! Then he had the gall to report the incidence to our superiors and got me fired! Since then I've been living in the bowls of hell for years, training with my left hand, planning ways to get back at him. And what way's better than to denounce his legacy and take down his only child?"

Kaoru readied her Bokken. "I won't let you!" she yelled. "I won't let you ruin my dad's style any more, you monster!" And she darted forward, swinging her bokken round with all her might.

Gohei caught it him the palm of his hand.

Kaoru stared in horror as Gohei grinned at her. "Your strength is all in your little-girl dreams!" and he swung down, crashing his fist hard into the bokken and struck her shoulder. Kaoru gasped in pain. The Battosai, however, was relentless and yanked her into the air by the collar of her training gi, making her choke. Gohei sneered "Heh, now I will exact my revenge on you, little girl, and make your father pay for his actions!" Gohei grinned madly and ran the flat of his blade against her cheek. "Your blood tastes so sweet."

A clack as the door was pushed open a second time made him pause. Kaoru opened an eye to look. It was a man with short, dark hair and stubble on his chin who stood there in silence. Kaoru's heart leapt. Perhaps…perhaps he was coming to help her?

Gohei's eyes narrowed. "What is it, Nishiwaki?"

Kaoru's heart plummeted.

The man, however, looked something close to scared and unnerved. He opened his mouth to say something. "H…him…" Suddenly, he stiffened. His eyes rolled up into his head and he fell forward with a bang. A figure from behind him lowered his arm, looking up at them with hard steely blue eyes, his red hair brushing softly against his face and, in one hand, he held a sheathed sword. Kaoru stared, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"K-Kenshin!"

Kenshin glanced at the man on the floor for a moment. "Sorry I'm late. He told me everything." He looked up, his eyes hard. "You will put her down gently, de gozaru."

Kaoru stared, her smile fading slightly. Something was different about the guy. Although his quirky way of speaking remained the same, his manner seemed oh so different. He seemed…harder, sharper, more focused. Sort of how it had seemed when he was facing the Battosai when he saved her in ruffian row.

"You again?" the Battousai said, surprised. He sneered "So, the new kid's here to save the day. Wait a moment, boy, while I tend to this chickadee. You'll meet your death soon enough. You're becoming a pain. I would have finished all this yesterday if you hadn't stuck your nose in, and after I went to all that trouble to get that note into your locker as well…"

Kenshin's eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "I knew I should have taken care of you back then."

Kaoru almost choked on that. W-what? She watched as he slid his sakabato into his belt, his right hand hovering over the hilt dangerously as he walked forward like a tiger ready to pounce and moved towards them with a graceful ease.

"Che, are you gonna start preaching to me about all that 'sword that protects crap? You're as cowardly as her old man."

Kenshin looked at him, just looked, but it made Kaoru feel cold. "No. It doesn't matter what you say. A sword is a weapon and it was made to kill. What she says…is nothing more than a sweet, naive lie." Kaoru felt her eyes watering up. Even him…was even he against everything her father had believed? But suddenly, he beamed up at her. Kaoru stared in wonder at the expression. "But, you know, with that awful truth, that lie of hers sounds so much better. If Sessha had a wish, it would only be that that lie could become the truth, for everyone to live by."

Gohei growled. "That guy is beginning to become annoying." He told the other men standing behind him. "How about you go play with him?"

The men laughed and turned round to face Kenshin, drawing daggers from within their leather jackets. Kaoru couldn't breath. What is that idiot doing? He's going to get himself killed!

"Kenshin, no!" She cried. "Please, Kenshin, run!"

But it was too late. They ran towards him, daggers glinting dangerously. Kenshin looked at them for a moment, then rushed forward. Only a blur could be seen! Kaoru stared. What the-! Kenshin blurred into view as his sakabato arced out, striking the blades from their hands and throwing three to the floor in one swing. The other men stared in horror, but Kenshin wasn't finished, he took them all down, all fell to the floor unconscious. Gohei stared in shock, looking at him as if he had never seen the boy before. Then again, Kaoru was having problems comparing this powerful fighter with the gentle new boy.

Kenshin stopped, passing his sakabato to the other hand and glanced over at Gohei with a cold look, though his eyes somehow held a slightly devilish expression, as if trying to tell the man just how much of an idiot he was. "Oh, there is…one little thing." He said, calmly. "Battosai doesn't use Kamiya Kasshin-ryu or whatever style you're using. He uses Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, ultra-sonic sword techniques that will not fail to slay any opponent," he smiled coldly. "Unless, of course, you use a sword like mine."

It hit her like a fist to the stomach. Gohei had never been the true Battosai at all. The true Battosai was…but that couldn't be! This kind and gentle young man was the real Hitokiri Battosai! Yet, somehow, the way he stood, that stance, it was terrifyingly beautiful, something every swordsman strove for, the heart of their techniques where sword and man were one.

If her father could have seen it, she was sure he would have switched to firearms on the spot.

Gohei seemed to realise the same thing only seconds later. "So you're him…who would have thought a boy like you was that assassin five years ago." He ginned and threw Kaoru to the ground. She immediately scrambled away. She had no idea what was going to happen, but she needed to call the police as soon as she could. If Kenshin lost…she grasped the phone, but before she could even dial 110, Gohei hacked through the cord with a vicious swipe of his katana.

"It looks like your death has been postponed, chickadee," he leered. Kaoru glared up at him, clutching the now useless phone, feeling utterly helpless. He turned back to Kenshin – or was that Battosai now? – With a dark glare. "Che, I should have finished you off last night." He raised his katana. "But it doesn't matter now - Play time's over, Battosai!" He lunged forward with a roar, bringing up his katana to slice down toward Kenshin's head. Kaoru froze, unable to even scream.

Kenshin vanished!

Gohei stared as if trying to find out where the boy had disappeared to desperately, until a voice cut through the air above like a knife.

"Over here."

Gohei's eyes widened in shock and both he and Kaoru gaped up towards the ceiling. Kenshin was up in the air as high as you could get without smashing through the roof. His sakabato was raised and he glared down at Gohei with eyes that almost seemed to glow. In one fell swoop, he swung downwards. There was a sickening crunch and the floor exploded in pieces of wood and debris as they both crashed to the ground. Kaoru covered her head with her arms to avoid it getting in her face. After a moment, she looked up from her arms slowly and gasped.

The body of Gohei was sprawled across the floor, his head hidden underneath a pile of wood chipping and broken planks. The only way she knew the guy was still alive was that he twitched still, but he was most definitely out cold. Kenshin landed light as a feather next to him. He flicked the sakabato sharply, flicking off stray bits of dust and sheathing it in one swift movement. "Sessha doesn't have an attachment to that name, but…" He looked back onto the form of the man darkly. "I can't let someone like you use it, either. You won't be able to hold a weapon in either of those hands now."

He looked over at Kaoru and his eyes softened slightly. "You aren't hurt, are you, Kaoru-dono?" he asked gently. Kaoru couldn't speak. She just shook her head mutely. Kenshin smiled, causing her to blink a little. "Sessha is glad, de gozaru." Kaoru watched his eyes, how they looked, just then, so sad. "Gomen na, I didn't mean to lie to you about that, but…its better if it isn't known." He brushed off his loose-fitting sweater and, with one last smile, turned towards the door again. "Well, take care, 'kay?"

And he walked away. Kaoru watched, trying to find a way to stop him, but she couldn't think of what to say. Just as he was about to reach the door, she yelled the first thing she could think of. "BAKA!"

"Oro!"

Kaoru panted. Okay, she had his attention, now talk fast! "So, you're not even going to stay and make sure Hiruma gets put in jail?" she demanded. "He's still a threat, you know! And I need help with all this!" she waved her hand at the dojo, where a group of men all lay swirly eyed from Kenshin's attacks.

Kenshin looked round, something flickering in his eyes before he smiled nervously. "Well, uh, I really don't think it would be a good idea if you have the real Battosai here when the police come, de gozaru…"

Kaoru ignored that. "And what was with you leaving in the middle of the night anyway, without even telling me, Himura Kenshin!" she growled. "Besides, I asked for Kenshin, not Battosai to sta-I mean…" good lord, what was he going to think of her! She spun round "It doesn't matter!" she snapped, crossing her arms with a huff. After a moment, she said, "Well, If you're going to just do a vanishing act again…at least…let me say thanks, for helping me."

"There's no need for thanks," his voice answered softly.

Seconds later, the door slid closed.

Kaoru sighed, letting her arms drop to her sides. So, he was gone…and somehow, even though the room was littered with a lot of still living people she felt so utterly and desperately alone.

"You know," a voice behind her drawled, "I have been wandering around for several years now…" Kaoru drew in a quick breath, Her eyes shining as her spirits flew. She spun round to be greeted by Kenshin's smiling face. "It would be nice to settle down for a bit." The corner of his mouth twitched a little more. "But, I'm something of a drifter, so you'll never know when I've got to hit the road again"

"Of course," Kaoru agreed. She felt like laughing, she was unable to stop grinning. If you had asked her something just then, she would have been willing to agree, even if you asked her if her cooking was bad!

"But, people might talk if they hear you've got some stranger living at your house," he warned, gauging her for her reaction.

"I don't care what they say," she declared brashly, her hands on her hips as she beamed at the redhead. Actually, it was going to be hilarious when the Himura fan club found out just who was staying at her place!

Kenshin seemed to relax, his violet eyes sparkling. "Then, I'd love to stay for a while, Kaoru-dono." He smiled back at her.

Kaoru beamed contentedly. Suddenly, a though struck her. "Wait a minute…if you were that agent who worked for the government five years ago…just how old are you anyway?"

Kenshin stared for a moment. "Oro?"

She had to fight a giggle at the sound. "Just what does that mean anyway? But, I mean, your still in high school, so you cant be that old – I mean, with a face like that…"

"Uh…How old…? Um… I don't…know? Hang on…" and he began to calculate his age…on his fingers!

"You don't know how old you are!" she exploded.

**TBC**

**Japanese Translations**

Dojo – training hall

Sessha – this unworthy one (an archaic version of "I")

Hitokiri – manslayer

Battosai – a name meaning, "master of Battojutsu"

Sakabato – reverse blade sword (a katana with the sharp side on the place where it is usually blunt and vice versa)

Baka – idiot.

Katana – Japanese long sword

Bokken – wooden sword

De gozaru – usually translated to 'so says this humble person'

Gomen na/ Gomennasai – I'm very sorry

Oro – Kenshin's version of 'huh'

110 – the Japanese form of 911 (American) or 999 (British) – the number for emergency services.

**Chosha's notes**

(Sits back with a grin.) Way! I've done the first part of MHS – and to think, on the anime and manga, it only takes one episode. Oh well…

Anyways, just a few notes to clear up on. This chapter was a rather large mix of both Manga and Anime, seeing as I told Kenshin's half of the story as well as Kaoru's. Well, in the Anime, you never find out just what Kenshin actually did after he left, so I decided to expand on the brief part on the manga. I also tried to make it different from the normal anime/manga, make it more now-like, but I'm not sure if I managed it or not. Well, it couldn't be helped. I promise, though, it will be a more modern setting as things go on, but I do want to stay as close as possible to the manga/anime for the character introductions. Should be interesting to see how that works out, huh? Oh yeah, I might also be adding little bits of my own in it, to fill up some of the time gaps, but they will lead back to the story, so don't think I've gone completely AU on you guys. But anyways…

Next time on MHS

With the fake Battosai gone, Kaoru and Kenshin begin to get accustomed to living with each other and another familiar face makes his first appearance. Next Episode: Fitting In

But for now, Ja ne!

**Chosha Kurenai xXx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chosha's Notes**

Hiya, Konnichiwa and welcome to you all once again to MHS. I've gotta tell you, I'm having fun with this. But anyways, I wanna thank everyone who reviewed last time and I hope I cleared up everything you needed to know. I'm also trying to cut down on the amount of Japanese I use, partly because it's a bugger to extract and translate it all, and partly because there was just way too much anyway. I hope this makes it better and easier to read. But anyways, here is the next chapter.

**IMPORTANT**: People keep asking me this and this will be the last time I say this. **Kenshin's age is 20**, NOT the same age as he is in the anime/Manga. This is because he is returning to High School and being 28 is just not appropriate. I'm NOT repeating myself again!

Disclaimer: Chosha Kurenai has no rights concerning Rurouni Kenshin. It belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama, to whom all rights are reserved.

Last time on MHS

Kenshin discovered who had been murdering under the name of Battosai and, in doing so, manages to save Kaoru, who discovers Kenshin was in fact once the Battosai five years ago, but still offers him a place to stay, which Kenshin accepts.

**Chapter four**

**The Aftermath**

Ugh…what a night, Kaoru thought, blinking as her mind finally caught up with her body (the alarm clock lay somewhere across the room after she had thrown it to get the damn thing to shut up). Sleepily, she shoved the covers off her and levered herself out of bed, swaying a little because of low blood pressure. "Unnn…" She staggered over to her school uniform that lay over the top of the chair by her desk, slowly pulling on her shirt, but paused, as she smelt something. Was that brewing coffee she could smell? Did I set the timer on the coffee-pot? I don't remember doing that…

With a yawn, she finished getting dressed and stumbled out of her room, following the smell of coffee as she rubbed away sleep-sand from her eyes. However, as she got to the kitchen, she froze, her hand on the doorframe, blinking stupidly at what was assaulting her senses.

Some pans and other cooking equipment was out, hot on the stove as the most delicious smells were drifting her way, making her mouth water. A movement caught her eye and she turned, her gaze drifting up from black socked feet, to dark-blue school-trousers, passed an open dark-blue blazer revealing a plain white shirt underneath, strands of red draped over one shoulder and finally bright, gentle violet eyes.

Himura Kenshin smiled shyly, holding up a steaming mug with a racoon pattern on the front. "Coffee?"

Kaoru blinked for a second before grinning and taking the mug from his hands. "Thanks, Kenshin."

It was a little later, as Kaoru sighed as she relaxed into the wooden chair round the dinning room table, nursing her now half-empty cup of milk-laced ambrosia, breathing in its scent deeply, that she began to contemplate the previous night's events. Hiruma Gohei, along with a gang of miscreants had come into her dojo and almost killed her in 'revenge' for her father getting Gohei sacked. But at the last moment (and boy, did that guy have impeccable timing!) Kenshin had appeared, effectively knocking out Nishiwaki and Gohei's other followers. He had then softly announced that Gohei was not the real hitokiri Battosai at all – he was! Kaoru had been in utter shock when she found out that the smiling, slightly strange new student was the real assassin. Yet somehow, she couldn't find it in her to be frightened of the boy when he had been the first in months to talk to her kindly, to not scorn her, to have saved her life when he could just as well have disappeared off the face of the earth.

But, after that, everything was a blur on Kaoru's mind. Gohei challenged Kenshin, and lost spectacularly after he was pummelled by an air attack. After that her hero tried to make a hasty retreat after apologising about lying to her, but before she knew it the words were coming out her mouth, she asked him to stay with her. Her offer did not look like it was going to be taken, so she just settled to thanking him. But that was met by a soft pronouncement that he didn't need to be thanked. When that door had closed, she felt lonelier than ever – until he spoke again, saying that as long as she didn't mind, he would love to stay a while.

It had got a little busy after that. They had called the police, who arrived about ten minutes later, and after the group had been arrested, they had been questioned as to what had taken place. Kenshin had attempted to stay out of it as much as possible, though the question of how the over-large murderer and his gang had wound up unconscious rose on several occasions. Once the police had finally left the sun had already gone down. Gensai had visited once he found out and fussed over Kaoru like a mother hen, thanking Kenshin over and over while the guy blushed a little and said it was nothing, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. After a hastily scrabbled together supper, the two had bid each other goodnight and headed off to their separate rooms.

Kaoru took a quick glance at the redhead, who was just finishing off making breakfast and was dishing it out for the two of them while he hummed a random tune cheerfully.

One thing that had surprised her was the boy's age. No, she couldn't really call him a boy. He was twenty. Twenty! And he still looked like a young teenager. It had to be illegal or something. He hadn't even been sure at first, having had to make a comical attempt to figure it out on his fingers. Kenshin probably hadn't even thought about his birthday in many years; it didn't matter when you didn't have a soul to tell about it. She guessed that must have been the train of thought that goaded her into getting him to stay. Still, it had struck her as strange, that he would be attending High School if he was twenty. However Kenshin had seen the incredulous look on her face and simply smiled, saying that he never got the chance to finish high school, so now he was taking the opportunity to do so.

"Here you go, Kaoru-dono."

Kaoru blinked from her musing to look up at the young man who had just placed breakfast in front of her and her mouth watered. It looked like Kenshin excelled at every meal. She inhaled the scent of it. Smelt like it too. Putting her thoughts aside, she beamed up at the redhead. "Arigato gozaimasu!"

The redhead laughed softly in answer and took the seat opposite Kaoru. Clapping his hands together respectfully, he said "Itadakimasu," and began eating. Kaoru hastily followed suit, savouring the taste of the breakfast. Kaoru could barely remember the last time she had had such a wonderful breakfast. It couldn't have been since her father had passed away. She had to know where Kenshin had learned to cooks so well. Maybe she could improve her own cooking – not that she would say that out loud.

"This is great, Kenshin! Where on earth did you learn to cook so well?"

Kenshin blushed a little. "Its not all that good…" he muttered under his breath with embarrassment, before smiling slightly. "Well, when you travel a lot, a 'rurouni' needs to learn to take care of himself, ne?"

"I guess so," Kaoru agreed.

"Oh, by the way, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin added, as he paused to take a sip of coffee. Kaoru paused in the middle of eating her egg, glancing up at him. "About the floor in the dojo. After school, I'll start fixing it."

Kaoru blushed. "You don't have to, Kenshin. We could just get someone in to fix it. It's not a problem."

"Well…" Kenshin shifted uncomfortably. "It sort of was Sessha's fault that the dojo got smashed up like that. I want to fix it. You don't have to worry about it. Besides," he added with a smile, "I can do carpentry – I needed to earn money somehow, so I usually ended up doing odd-jobs."

"Well, I could pay you for it-" Kaoru started, but Kenshin cut her off.

"Iie, I couldn't do that. After all, the floor wouldn't be all broken up if I hadn't made Gohei crash through the floor." He reasoned.

Kaoru sighed. One thing she had learned about the man was that, as sweet as he was, he was extremely stubborn. Once he got an idea in his head, he wasn't going to be swayed. It sort of…in a much quieter way, reminded her of herself. "Oh, all right then…" she relented, finishing off her coffee. "But," she added, holding up her cup shyly. "Do you think I could get another coffee, before we head off?"

Kenshin laughed and poured her another cup from the coffeepot.

A little while later, Kenshin waited for Kaoru as she locked the front door and they headed off towards school. It was nice, just walking together with him. It was much better than walking alone. Kenshin never said much, but there wasn't really a need to fill the silence with talk. After a while, Kenshin did ask about the school, seeing as he had only had one day there so far. So for the reminder of the walk, Kaoru started to tell him about the different happenings at school – how they finished earlier on the Fridays, which teachers to watch out for and other such things. Kenshin didn't speak all that much, but he was a very avid listener, unlike a lot of the boys at the school. It was a nice change. It didn't seem long before they turned the corner and walked through the front gates. However, they had barely taken two steps through them when –

"Himuuuuuura-kuuuuun!"

Kenshin blinked in surprise and turned round. His eyes almost dropped from his skull.

"Oro!"

It almost looked like four or five girls from the class – who Kenshin also recognised with a grimace as being members of his so called fan club - had been waiting to mug him or something. Kaoru yelped and jumped behind him as they charged up to him, each one looking either ecstatic or relieved, their eyes filled with overjoyed tears. Kenshin wanted to run off screaming right then and there if they even took one step towards glomping him.

"Oh, Himura-kun!" one of them – a girl with shoulder-length pale-brown hair – said happily. "We thought you were ill, yesterday. Are you all better now?"

"Uh…Hai, I'm fine, de gozaru." Kenshin lied, watching them warily in case they tried to jump him.

"That's great!" another girl said loudly. "We were really worried that the Battosai's girl got you!"

Kenshin almost found himself pushed aside as Kaoru stood forward, growling under her breath. The girls drew back as one under her wrath. "What the hell do you mean, baka!" she yelled. "Look you, I'm sick of your catty wining and I am sick of you slagging me off for no damned reason! And besides, for your information, they caught that murderer last night! After he tried to kill me!"

"Look, you, who do you think you are talking to!" snapped one of the girls. "Besides, you'd just say that so you could get close to everyone then tell your murderer friend!"

"Why you little…" Kaoru growled, pushing back her sleeves, but suddenly found a hand resting gently on her shoulder. She blinked and looked up into Kenshin's face. Kenshin smiled gently and Kaoru couldn't help but calm looking into those amethyst pools.

Kenshin turned to the girls. "Please, stop fighting for a minute and listen. Don't you think it's a little childish to blame Kaoru-dono for no reason?"

The girl turned to stare at him, as if he was mad for standing up for her. "You don't understand, that murderer was from the –"

"He claimed to be." Kenshin corrected. "But Kaoru-dono has not done anything to deserve you belittling her. Weren't you her friend, once? Did she ever give you reason to doubt her?" the girls were silent. "To decry Kaoru-dono in such a way when she has not shown any reason for you to do so only shows how shallow you are being. Besides, Kaoru-dono is correct. 'Battosai', or the man that was pretending to be Battosai, was caught yesterday evening. So, although I thank you for your concern for me, your warnings are…not headed, de gozaru. Sumimasen."

Without another word, he steered a rather shocked Kaoru away towards the school, leaving his fan-club members stunned behind him. Kaoru looked up at Kenshin, who just smiled at her softly in a way that almost said to her, 'I'm sorry for how they acted, but I think it's fine now'. Kaoru smiled back at him. It was nice to have someone stand up for her, after so many weeks. How on earth had she ended up making friends with such a guy? She grinned as she turned round to him. "Well then, Kenshin, we'd better hurry up, or we're going to be late!"

With that she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the school gates, causing him to utter his odd exclamation again. She giggled happily and hummed as they made their way through the schoolyard, feeling better than she had done since Gohei started murdering a month ago.

Kenshin let her drag him along, watching her face with something close to fascination. That smile… that was the first time Kenshin had seen her smile like that. Kenshin hid his own smile. Yes, this was the expression that suited her the most. This is the expression that she should always have. At least, while he was staying at Meiji High School, he was going to try to keep that smile on her face. And maybe, just maybe, it would help him to forget the fear and hatred that had been associated with him for far too long.

**MHS**

When the bell went signalling the end of lessons for the day, it was almost as if there was a tsunami of people bursting through the doors as they tried to get out of the school building to make the use of the early finish that Friday's offered them. Kenshin stretched a little as he made his way through the doors (after the rush had gone so he wouldn't get trodden down), then sun feeling good against his skin. It was even better after being stuck in class almost all day.

"I'm glad the weather's good," he said with a smile. "I might be able to start with the washing too- Oro?" he cut himself off at the rather stormy look on Kaoru's face as she growled a little under her breath. Kenshin backed away a little nervously, not wanting to be used for target practice. "K-Kaoru-dono? Daijobu ka?"

"The nerve of her!" Kaoru exploded, causing Kenshin to jump at the outburst. "As if those Algebra equations weren't hard enough, but then she had to go and give us all that homework to do over the weekend as well! Baka Kawasaki-sensei."

Kenshin relaxed a little, but couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her complaint, only to have Kaoru round on him. Quickly he smothered it, not about to test his luck with the fiery-tempered girl. "What are you laughing at, Kenshin no baka?"

"Nothing, nothing at all, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin said quickly. He remembered all too clearly those drunkards she had left sprawled all over the Ruffian Row only a couple of nights before. "Ne, lets just get back to the dojo. If you like, Sessha could try and help you with the homework, if it's a little difficult, de gozaru."

"Wow, really?" asked Kaoru, brightly. "That's great, Kenshin. I know!" she said, thumping her fist into her other hand. "Ne, Kenshin, since I haven't got any students to practice with yet – though I'm sure they'll come back once they find out Gohei's been caught – do you think you could practice with me?"

"Oro?" Kenshin blurted, stumbling slightly. Practice his sword techniques with Kaoru? But he couldn't to that. The only person he had ever practised with was with his Shishou, and Kenshin always had to go full out against him to avoid getting hit. And being a Hitokiri made it hard not to go all out. He might hurt her if he did something like that! No, he couldn't do that, and anyway – "I'm afraid my skill with a bokken is lacking, de gozaru."

Kaoru looked disappointed. "But Kenshin, if I don't practice, I'll lose my form! Do you know how long it takes to get to the nearest dojo? Two hours! Two hours, Kenshin! And the school Kendo club only meets every other week!"

Suddenly, Kaoru cut off, just as something hard plowed into Kenshin's back, causing him to let out an oro. He also felt something sift in his bag pocket. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a young boy with dark, spiky hair that resembled a hedgehog, dressed in the Meiji high boy's uniform at his back, and spotted something clutched in his hand as he began to run away. However, it looked as if Kenshin wasn't the only one to see it. Kaoru immediately rugby-tackled the boy the ground.

"Kenshin – this kid's a pickpocket!" Kaoru cried, holding up a familiar (not to mention rather battered) object. "Look, this is your wallet!"

The boy in question glared up at Kaoru. With a growl, he strained against Kaoru's hold. "Leggo! Let me go, busu!"

Kenshin winced slightly at the look in Kaoru's eyes and prepared himself for the explosion.

"Wh…WHO'RE YOU CALLING BUSU, BAKA!" Kaoru screeched, grabbing hold of the boy's blazer and hauling him up. The boy, however, wasn't intimidated (surprisingly, 'cause Kenshin sure was!)

"You, Busu!"

Kenshin decided that unless he wanted Kaoru to kill the kid, he'd better intervene. Hell, Kenshin knew he was poor, but if the boy was going to risk Kaoru's wrath for a little bit of money… "Chotto, chotto." Both Kaoru and the boy stopped, looking over at Kenshin in surprise. "Arigato, Kaoru-dono, but if he really need it so badly…" he took the wallet from Kaoru and turned instead to the boy, looking at his dark, dark eyes. Suddenly, they turned angry and he tried to punch Kenshin, as if to get him to move so he could run away. However, Kenshin caught it. The boy's eyes widened, then widened even more when Kenshin smiled at him softly, turning the boy's palm face up and slapped the wallet into his hand, placing one hand on his head. "Here." Although he wasn't really one to promote this kind of thing, he decided he might as well say it anyway. He leaned in slightly and whispered, "Just don't get caught next time, kid."

With that, he stood back up again and began to walk off. "Let's go, Kaoru-dono. The sooner we get back, the sooner I can start on fixing that floor for you."

Kaoru stared after him, confused, before running after him. "O-oi! Chotto Matte!"

However, he didn't get too far before he felt something strike the back of his head - hard. "Oro!" He looked round, rubbing his head with one hand, to find the wallet now lying on the floor and the boy looking highly insulted.

"Hey, just because you're my Sempai doesn't mean you can treat me like some little kid!" the boy snapped. "I am Myojin Yahiko and don't you forget it! And don't get the wrong idea – I was just testing you because you're a newbee."

The vein was throbbing on Kaoru's forehead again, but Kenshin just smiled. "Look, kid –"

"I am not a kid, dammit!" yelled Yahiko

"Hmm…" Kenshin clenched the wallet again, his smile widening a little. "No…no you're right. You look like a child on the outside, but I can see your pretty grown up within. Gomen na – I didn't mean to underestimate you. Don't ever loose that pride you have."

The boy stiffened slightly, looking at him strangely for a moment, before he turned away. "Hmph." With that, he ran off towards the school gates. Kenshin watched him leave.

"Is he proud, or ashamed, I wonder?" he mused aloud as he watched the boy disappear round the corner. Kaoru just snorted as she turned away.

"I say he's a brat."

Kenshin sighed slightly, slipping his wallet back into his bag again as they began to walk towards the gates themselves. However, his mind wandered back to the boy with the stubborn ki. How could a boy who looked and seemed so different remind him so much of himself as a young boy?

"Well, hurry up, Kenshin," Kaoru said. "At this rate, the whole afternoon will have gone before we get home!"

Kenshin chuckled, putting those thoughts to one side. "Hai, Kaoru-dono."

The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful. Ayame and Suzume were both still at school and Dr Gensai was at the Ogura clinic, so Kenshin and Kaoru were the only ones at the dojo. This was fine by Kenshin, as it let him put his mind to the task at hand – namely fixing up the floor that Gohei had smashed up in the dojo. Kenshin winced as he looked at the hole. Scratch that. The floor that Kenshin had smashed up sending Gohei into the floor. He sighed. Kami-sama, his Shishou would never have let him forget that. Just as well that Kaoru was so forgiving. Mind you, that could be because he was going to fix it unaided and without pay.

Not that Kaoru hadn't offered her help, but Kenshin just told her to sit down, relax and just let him do it, since it was all his fault. At first, Kenshin thought that Kaoru wasn't going to give up, but she instead shrugged and just told Kenshin where everything was, seeing as Kenshin wasn't going to let her help out in any other way. Thankfully, there were spare planks of wood in the garage – obviously spares in case any of the floorboards were damaged during training. It looked like Kaoru might have to get more spares, he thought guiltily, but those would do for now, just to fix up his damage.

It took almost all the afternoon and still there was a lot to be done by the time it started getting dark. In the end, he decided that he would use Saturday to get that out of the way and stood up, feeling his back pop from being bent over for so long. Stretching a little, he made his way back into the house. Most of the rooms were pretty quiet, except for the living room, where he saw lights coming from a crack in the Fushuma. he slid open the door to find Kaoru sitting in a beaten up looking pale-blue sofa watching the television with some interest.

"Ano…Kaoru-dono?"

"Shush!" Kaoru said without turning round.

He blinked at her a moment, then turned to see what it was that was so interesting on the screen. A news reporter – he didn't catch the man's name – was just announcing a new report.

"The case of Hitokiri Battosai has finally drawn to a close with the capture of the murderer last night. Hiruma Gohei, 37, was arrested last night after the attempted murder of Kamiya Kaoru, assistant master of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu in Tokyo. Interrogation has discovered that Hiruma had pretended to be the agent-hitokiri Battosai in order to discredit the name of the dojo. He is now awaiting trial, though it is thought his sentence will be life imprisonment. Investigations still continue as to other crimes committed by Hiruma. We will be re-visiting this story later, as trials are still underway."

Kaoru looked round with a triumphant grin on her face. "There! There, you see! Now everyone at school will have no choice but to see I was right!" she exclaimed happily. "And now that everyone knows that Gohei wasn't using Kamiya Kasshin-ryu, do you think that people will start to come back to the dojo again, Kenshin?"

Kenshin hesitated for a moment. He didn't really want to have her getting her hopes up if they didn't. "It's possible," he said, choosing his words carefully. "But once some people move on, it's not easy to come back."

"Wow, aren't you the optimistic one," she grumbled sarcastically.

Kenshin smiled a little. "Maybe."

"Anyway, how's work going?" Kaoru asked, moving over a little so Kenshin had some room to sit down. Kenshin took it.

"Slow," he admitted, "but Its getting a little late now, so I'll finish it off tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" she pressed. "I could just ring for someone, you know."

Kenshin laughed a little. It seemed as though Kaoru wasn't going to let that drop. "Maa, It's alright, Kaoru-dono. It shouldn't take too long. You don't need to worry about Sessha, de gozaru yo!"

"If you're sure…" She said, but Kenshin could see that she probably wouldn't drop it until he was finished. And they were both stubborn…Sheesh.

"Anyway, have you had dinner yet?" he asked, more to try and get the subject away from his work in the dojo.

"Well, ano-" she was cut off when her stomach made a strange noise and she blushed with embarrassment and giggled. Kenshin laughed too and stood up. "I take that as a no?" he joked. "Daijobu, Sessha will make something."

Kaoru followed him as he made his way to the kitchen, switching on the lights. She giggled. "You know, Kenshin," she chortled, "I never realised how nice it was to have a man in the house to do this kind of stuff!"

**TBC**

**Japanese translations**

_Dojo: martial arts training hall._

_Hitokiri: manslayer_

_Dono: an archaic form of Sama, which is even more respectful than San, that is close to saying Lord/Lady whoever._

_Arigato (gozaimasu): thank you (very much)_

Itadakimasu – um…doesn't have a real meaning, it's just something they say before eating, sort of like 'thank you for this food. Lets eat.'

_Iie: no_

_Sessha: a form of 'I' (like Watashi, Watakushi, Atashi, Boku, or Ore). Though considered archaic, meaning something like 'this unworthy one'_

_-Kun: a suffix used to male students, or a 'superior to inferior' form to indicate difference in status, as well as familiarity or affection. (Or, that's what the manga says...)_

_Oro: an exclamation similar to 'Ara' used by Kenshin – basically similar to 'huh'_

_De gozaru – a suffix conjugation for "to be" or can be roughly translated as "...so says this humble person"_

_Baka: idiot_

_Sumimasen: excuse me, pardon me_

_Daijobu ka – are you all right?_

_Sensei: teacher_

_-No Baka: i.e. Kaoru no Baka – basically 'Kaoru you idiot'_

_Busu: I believe it means "ugly" or "hag"_

_Chotto: "hey". Used to get attention. "Oi" also means "hey", but is usually used in a fight and is thus less polite._

_Matte: wait_

_Gomen na/ Gomennasai: I'm sorry/I'm very sorry_

_Hai: yes_

_Kami-sama: Lord God_

_Shishou: master teacher in older sword styles_

Ano: a sound made like "um…"

Yo: how you say "!"

Daijobu: It's/I'm all right

Chosha's Notes 

Well, here we are at the end of another chapter. This is the point where you tell me what you feelings are by clicking that little button at the bottom of the screen. Anyway, we see a little of Yahiko in this chapter (don't worry, Yahiko fans, he'll be back really soon!) I also think that I might have been a little OOC, to which, if I was, I'm sorry, but please inform me, as I'm not sure myself – it might just be due to being set in the modern world? As you might have seen, I got away from the original plot-line a little at the beginning of the chapter – expect things like that, as I'm trying to tell the in-between bits of what happened that Watsuki-sama or the anime didn't tell. I hope you like the new bits, because obviously, things are a hell of a lot different today than 140 years ago, wouldn't you say?

Next time on MHS

Kenshin finishes off the dojo, but it seems that not all is well. A new acquaintance seems to have got into serious trouble. And Kenshin and Kaoru cannot just stand by. Next episode: Yahiko's Pride

But, until then, Ja ne!

Chosha Kurenai xXx


End file.
